Power Rangers: Generations
by Daletiel
Summary: When a relic of the past is unearthed by forces out to gain ultimate power, Tommy Oliver is forced to recruit some old friends to go on one final mission.
1. Chapter I

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, technology or locations which appear in real Power Rangers continuity. They belong to Disney, Saban and whoever else owns the rights. This story begins at some point before "Wave Goodbye", a short while before Tommy becomes the Black Ranger.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've gotten some pretty decent reviews for this on other boards, so I figured I'd post it over here too. I apologize for the slowness of the beginning, but trust me, it will pick up soon enough. I hope you like it.

**Chapter I**

The harsh winds blew fiercely across the barren desert terrain. A lone, cloaked figure moved with purpose through the barrage, his head bent slightly to prevent errant grains of sand from getting into his eyes. He was moving with a singular purpose. To retrieve an item which would put the plans of his master into motion. An item which was buried somewhere in the desert which stretched before him as far as the eye could see.

From within the folds of his cloak, the figure withdrew a handheld scanning device about the size of a palm pilot. Lifting the protective cover, he waved it in a circular arc in front of him, searching for the energy signature of the item he needed to find. The device began to beep as he directed it northeasterly. A smug expression came over him, and he walked confidently in that direction, the beeping becoming louder and more frequent as he moved. He stopped when the constant beeping became one long flatline, indicating that he was directly atop the item emitting the energy signature.

Returning the device to its place inside the recesses of his cloak, he concentrated a portion of his power into the palm of his hand, pointed it downward and released it. He large geyser of sand erupted, temporarily obscuring his view. When it had settled, he could see a small rectangular chest, emblazoned with a symbol which stood out from the rest of the intricately detailed design. The sunlight, which glinted off the chest, reflected in his eyes, and he smirked as he reached down to retrieve it.

His master would be most pleased.

- PRG -

The bell rang just as I finished my lesson. I shut the open textbook in my hand and addressed my students.

"Alright, guys, that's all for today. I want you to pay close attention to the methods of carbon dating found in Chapter 6. They'll be on your test next week, and it'll be your last chance to pull up your mark before the exam. Have a good weekend." The students walked past me and out the door, saying goodbye as they passed. I watched them go, my peripheral vision registering that three had remained behind. Kira Ford, Ethan James and Conner McKnight. The newest generation of Power Rangers, defenders of the Earth. I motioned for them to come forward as I began putting my books into my briefcase.

"Any rumblings from Mesogog lately?" Conner asked. I shook my head and placed my briefcase on my desk.

"No, it's been quiet for the last few weeks, but that doesn't mean he's not up to something. Whenever the big bad goes into hiding, something big's going to go down. I would think you guys had seen enough movies to know that." The teens nodded at me, chuckling under their breaths at my joke. I smiled too, but the look I gave them let them know that I was serious. "I'm serious, guys, keep your guard up. In the meantime, you should all get to class. If Principal Randall gives you detention, you won't be able to do anything when Mesogog _does_ attack." I reached down to retrieve my briefcase…

The pain came so suddenly that I didn't have time to prepare for it. I dropped to my knees in agony, clutching my sides. The others rushed forward to help me, but I shook them off. This was not something they could help me with. This was something internal, something that neither they nor I could control. My lungs constricted, making it difficult to breathe, the air coming in short wheezes. In my time as a Power Ranger, I had learned how to deal with the pain, to overcome it. A broken arm, cracked ribs, fractured tibia...I'd suffered nearly every injury you could think of during my tenure, both physical and psychological. My body was like a painter's canvas, covered with a virtual latticework of scars, some unnoticeable, most clearly visible. Luckily, my clothing usually served to cover up the majority of them. In fact, there was only one person who had seen the scars that weren't readily visible. Kimberly...

As I began to focus, slowing my breathing, concentrating on dealing with the pain, I found my thoughts drifting to her. I didn't think of her much these days, not since I got the thing that broke my heart all those years ago. The Letter…I always found it a little bit strange, that something that hurt me so much could be given a name that sounded so cold and unfeeling. I'd gotten over her long ago, but I know that there will always be a part of me that will be brokenhearted.

I had drawn my mind from the physical pain, only to re-open old emotional wounds. I tried to push myself to my feet, but my legs didn't have the strength to support me. Luckily, the others were there, and caught me before I fell to the floor once more. Through the corners of my eyes, I noticed the Dino Gems on each of their wrists begin to glow brightly. Mere moments later, the pain had completely subsided.

I gulped in air greedily, being supported by the others, steadying myself.

"Doctor O, are you alright?" Kira asked, her voice full of concern. I swallowed, and smiled weakly.

"I'm fine, Kira. Don't worry about me, get going." The teens looked at me for a few moments, before finally nodding and leaving the room. I sighed, and slumped down into my chair. _What the hell just happened?_ I asked myself. _There's no logical explanation--_

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a familiar sound, felt a vibration coming from the inside of my jacket. I massaged my brow with my left hand, while reaching to retrieve my cell phone with my right. I withdrew it, opened it and brought it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Tommy you've got to get back to the lab. Now." The voice on the phone was Hayley's.

"What's going on, Hayley?"

"I don't know. That's the problem. Get back here now."

"I'm on my way." I turned off the phone, tapping it lightly against my chin. It was certainly odd. Hayley knew my lab almost as well as I did. My breath caught in my throat as I realized the severity of the situation. There was only one aspect of the lab that I hadn't shown to Hayley, or anyone else for that matter. I snatched my briefcase and rushed out of the classroom, practically tripping over my feet in the process. I spent a few minutes arranging to have a substitute teacher handle the rest of my classes, before full out running to my jeep, and taking off towards home, the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach slowly growing.

- PRG -

I walked into the lab with the sense of apprehension still resonating inside me. My footsteps echoed loudly through the room, catching the attention of Hayley, who had been sitting at one of the consoles, chewing absently at her fingernails. There was a loud wailing sound coming from somewhere in front of me, which I recognized at once. Hayley's eyes moved to the direction where I was approaching, and she practically leapt out of her seat when she saw me.

"I don't know what's going on, Tommy," she said quickly. "I was scanning the city, keeping an eye out for disturbances, when this siren began going off." She gestured in the direction of the siren, where a bright neon green light was flashing. I felt my hands ball into fists of their own volition, felt the sweat from my palm reacting to the skin of my fingertips.

"Leave," I said, in a tone barely audible. Hayley looked at me, the confusion evident on her features.

"What?" I swallowed the lump growing in my throat.

"Leave, Hayley. Now."

"Tommy, I don't under-"

"Hayley," I repeated, meeting her gaze. "This is something I have to take care of myself. Please, just go." Hayley bit her lip, looking at me strangely, but finally nodded and left. I sighed, running my fingers through my closely cropped black hair. I walked quickly over to a console at the far end of the room, and began typing furiously at the keyboard linked to it.

A map of a desert area appeared on the screen, and was quickly overlaid with a GPS tracking grid. I inputted a command to zoom in on a specific area of the map, grid J10. The map zoomed in, and where there should have been a beacon, there was nothing. My mouth went dry, and I reached into my pocket, withdrawing my cell phone with a shaky hand. I searched through my digital phone book, and dialed the number I needed when I found it. It rang three times before someone picked up.

"It's me. Get everyone together. _Everyone_. We've got problems."

- PRG -

_tibia_ - the inner and larger of the two bones of the lower human leg, extending from the knee to the ankle; also known as the shinbone.


	2. Chapter II

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, technology or locations which appear in real Power Rangers continuity. They belong to Disney, Saban and whoever else owns the rights. There is a slight change in continuity. In the universe I am writing in, everything is the same, except that Rocky did become the Blue Turbo Ranger, and was replaced with Justin at the same time the others were replaced. That's the only change. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter.

**Chapter II**

After hanging up the phone, I rushed up the steps connecting the lab to my house as quickly as my legs would take me. It took me about a half hour to get everything I needed together. I called the school to make sure there would be someone to cover the rest of my classes for the day. Luckily, it being Friday, I'd have a few days to figure out whether I'd need to take a more extended leave of absence or not.

It took me about three hours to get to my destination. Angel Grove. The first place I'd really been able to call home. I'd moved so many times before I was sixteen, I felt like I was in a military family. Every time we moved, my parents swore that it would be the last time, but they never kept their promise until we settled in Angel Grove. It was the place where my life changed forever. The place where I took up the mantle of power, and became one of Zordon's Power Rangers, after a brief spell with evil, if you'll pardon the pun.

I was sitting in my jeep, in the parking lot of Angel Grove Park. I looked down at my watch apprehensively. It was 2:15. The meeting was set to begin in fifteen minutes. I let out a deep breath, and climbed out of the jeep, lightly slamming the door behind me. I walked slowly up the well-trodden path that snaked through the heart of the park, trying to collect my thoughts. It had been at least five years since I'd seen them, and I'd have to say that I was a little scared at how we would all react to one another.

Trini's death had hit everyone hard, but it hit the originals worse than the others. Jason Lee Scott, William Cranston, Zack Taylor, and…Kimberly Ann Hart. We had all heard in different ways, but the news was still the same: she had died, in a car crash with a drunk driver. I attended the funeral, of course, but after such a long time…I felt out of place, segregated from these people whom I had, and still did, call family. Even Billy, who was permanently living on Aquitar with his wife, Cestria, seemed more comfortable with them than I did.

Looking back on it now, I know why I acted the way I did. I couldn't deal with it. We had been Power Rangers. After surviving countless life or death battles, it seemed so…unfair that she should die through circumstances completely out of her, and our, control. So I made no attempt to reconnect with them, any of them. I stayed cold and aloof. I went through the motions like a machine instead of allowing myself to feel. And for that, I was sure they hated me.

Of those four, I'd only been in contact with Jason, and even that was only for the mission on the moon. When it was completed, we said our goodbyes, and that was that. It wasn't much better with the second group, either. The replacements, as some probably would have called them. Katherine Hillard, Rocky DeSantos, Adam Park and Tanya Sloan. I kept in touch with them casually, and even then, I'd only talk to them if they called me. For some reason, I found it necessary to keep myself separated from my past, but that was changing. Things you wanted to forget had a way of coming back to bite you in the ass. I'd learned that through personal experience. And now I needed my past more than ever.

I was going to need their help.

- PRG -

The figure's footsteps echoed loudly off of the polished black onyx, which comprised the floor and walls of the corridor. The chest, tucked securely under his arm, glowed a pale green in stark contrast to the torchlight that lit his way. His cloak billowed open behind him, leaving his form visible for all to see.

He belonged to a race of people known as Tegrans, who lived on the third planet of the Tansen system, orbiting a yellow dwarf binary star. His home world was a mostly barren planet, the surface being uninhabitable for most civilized races, with extreme temperature changes being the norm. After a handful of generations living beneath the surface, evolution decided to hand the Tegrans a compensatory gift. The skin of their species changed from the type of skin found on Humans and most other humanoid species to take on a black, rock-like texture, which provided resistance to heat and cold, allowing them to outrageous temperatures.

A polished red and black breastplate covered his chest, leaving only bony protrusions extending from his shoulders visible. Flexible black armor of the same makeup covered his legs and arms, allowing for maximum maneuverability. A long, curved broadsword lay in its sheath, hanging off of his left hip, within easy reach of his hand. Numerous scars covered his body, from a life fraught with battle, and anguish.

_Draeph._ The voice of his master resounded in his mind, blocking out all other thoughts. When his master communicated with him telepathically, it usually meant an important task was required of him, and he wasted no time in responding.

_Yes, master?_

_The target is aware that our prize is missing. I want you to take care of him before he has a chance to gather allies._ With that statement, the voice left him, and Draeph was free to think again. He reached the end of the hallway, trying to figure out what course of action would bring the best chance of success. Finally deciding that going himself, with a team of virebots, his personal foot soldiers, would be best, he stepped on to the teleport pad, keying the location of Tommy Oliver into the terminal to his left, and disappeared in a blanket of shimmering light.

- PRG -

I finally reached the wooden benches where I had told the others to meet me. There were a couple of trees towering close to the benches, providing shade from the heat of the sun overhead. I sat down, massaging the back of my neck, waiting patiently for the others to show up. I heard a humming coming from overhead, and looked up, seeing a dark form appear out of thin air, obviously from a teleport beam. I spun myself up, taking up a fighting stance on top of the bench, my right hand, palm out, near my forehead and my left hand, palm out, at my waist.

"Who the hell are you?" The form smirked, stepping forward to address me.

"My name is Draeph. I've been meeting to meet you for some time now, Thomas Oliver." My eyebrows rose when I heard him say my name. He presented his right hand, spinning a very familiar chest on the tip of his index finger. "Recognize this?" he asked smugly. I extended my left arm, pointing at the chest.

"That doesn't belong to you," I retorted. Draeph stopped spinning the chest, letting it rest in his palm, and glared at me.

"It does now, and there's nothing you can do about it." I cracked my neck from side to side, preparing myself for battle.

"We'll see about that." Draeph snapped his fingers, and a dozen forms materialized in front of him. They weren't much to look at, clad entirely in black save for two white slits where their eyes should have been and a stylized pentagram emblazoned in gold on their chests. They had long blades attached to each of their arms, making them look like cheap Baraka wannabes. I groaned inwardly.

_Foot soldiers. Why did this have to happen now?_

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" I asked. Draeph chuckled evilly.

"Not on your life, Oliver. Attack, my virebots! Bring me his head!" The virebots rushed forward in force on the orders of their superior, blades reaching out towards me. I executed a side flip, landing lightly on my feet in the middle of them. I lunged forward, catching the virebot directly in front of me with a straight punch to the gut. I rolled across its back, executing a spinning heel kick that sent three of them flying, and snapped my leg out behind me, sending the bent-over grunt sprawling to the ground.

I turned around and leapt forward, taking the heads of two of them in the crook of my left arm and my legs, and rolled forward, using my forward momentum to send them somersaulting along the grassy earth. As I began to get to my feet, a pair of blades cut into me, leaving long jagged slashes in my chest. I grunted inaudibly, my right hand instinctively going to my chest, the pain searing like a white-hot poker inside me. I spun into a spinning leg sweep, keeping the virebots away from me as I tried to push the pain out of my mind.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the fallen virebots beginning to rise, shaking off the effects of the blows I had dealt to them. I put my hands on my hips, shaking my head in frustration. _This isn't getting me anywhere. It's time to finish this._ Two of the virebots rushed at me, one on each side of me. I blocked the attack from the one on my left, swiftly snapping its neck, and delivered a powerful uppercut to the one on my right. Before I could react, three of them came up behind me, restraining me as I struggled to get free. Another one stepped forward, and proceeded to thrust forward with one of its blades. It punctured the soft skin covering the right side of my stomach, coming out the back.

I let out a bloodcurdling scream when the blade entered me. I could feel my blood beginning to flow from the wound, the viscous liquid feeling warm against my skin, which was already starting to grow numb. Draeph waved off the virebots, and they gathered behind him, leaving me on my knees, trying in vain to staunch the flow of blood with my hands. He reached down, picking me up by my throat, and lifted me up so that our eyes met.

"I want you to listen to me, Oliver, and listen well. You are _nothing_ to me. You will not stop us. We will not be denied." I could feel my consciousness fading, and I thought I could hear the faint sound of an engine in the distance. Draeph's head jerked to the right, and he let go of me suddenly, motioning to the virebots behind him. He pressed a button located on his belt, and they all disappeared in the same blanket of light that marked their arrival. I fell to the ground, weakening steadily with each passing moment. The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was the sound of footsteps rushing towards me, and then nothing.

- PRG -

Draeph – (DRAY-if)

Virebot – (VEE-ra-bot)


	3. Chapter III

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am _not_ ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'd like to thank you all for your readership, and I'm glad that you're all enjoying the story so far. Now I'll address some of you individual reviewers:

**Harry2** – You could be right or you could be wrong about the relic being from the ruins of the Power Chamber. Heh, I'm going to leave you in suspense on that for just a little longer, until the end of this chapter, at least. Also, thanks for the comment regarding the fight scene, although, personally, I didn't much like it.

**Victoria Masters** – Thanks for the comment regarding filling in the blanks with Tommy's relationship with the other rangers. In terms of having Trini dead, I thought I would write her off considering Thuy Trang, the actress who portrayed her, died a few years ago. I suppose it was my way of acknowledging her tragic death.

**hartfelt** – You'll have to keep your eyes peeled for a glimpse of Billy.

**Chapter III**

"Well…this is pleasant," I muttered aloud, as I swept my gaze across the unfamiliar landscape that was laid out before me. It seemed inherently blurred, painted in dull tones that made everything seem to blend together, and a thick layer of fog was heavy in the air all around me. I could hardly see three metres in front of me. I ran my hand across my jaw thoughtfully, feeling the stubble, raised slightly against my fingers. To my immediate right, I saw a large, dark shadow begin to materialize in the mist. I dropped into a fighting stance and waited for the form to exit the mist so that I could get a clear look at him or her. When the figure finally emerged, my jaw dropped in utter amazement.

"Sam?" I asked the figure. The elderly face of Sam Trueheart, the same face I remember that led to the discovery of my brother, smiled warmly, although it seemed more aged than it had been years before.

"It is good to see you again, Tommy," he replied. I relaxed immediately, straightening as I moved towards him. I shook his hand firmly.

"Where am I? What are you doing here?"

"We are in your mind. This," he said, gesturing around us, "is the dreamscape as you have envisioned it. As for why I am here, I'm here to help you." I looked at him strangely.

"To help me? With what?" He was silent as I thought about it, and it took me a few moments before it finally occurred to me.

"You're talking about the chest," I said softly. He nodded.

"Yes, however, you do not know of the true importance of its contents."

"Of course I know how important it is. What's in that chest was a part of me…in some ways, it's still a part of me, and I'll do whatever it takes to get it back. I can't let it fall into evil hands. Not again."

"It is time for you to wake up, Tommy. Enlist the aid of your friends. They may be the only ones who can help you." Everything began to fade, his words echoing in my mind as the dreamscape began to disappear.

"Wait! What if I need to talk to you again?"

"I will send someone who can speak on my behalf when the time is right. Do not worry." I nodded slightly, as a bright light flashed all around me, sending me tumbling into unconsciousness.

I could hear a myriad of sounds as I slowly regained consciousness. I groaned aloud and began to open my eyes, trying not to be blinded by the blaring lights beating down on me from overhead. I tried to push myself up, regretting it immediately as pain shot through my body, forcing me to lie back down. I heard footsteps approaching me, echoing loudly off the linoleum tiles that comprised the makeup of the floor. I turned my head to look to my left, and saw an average-sized man in a white coat, with a nametag that read Dr. Patterson, standing over me. I looked up at him and smiled weakly.

"How long have I been out, doc?"

"About three hours. Half that time was spent in surgery, trying to repair the cartilage damage in your abdomen. With the trauma and sheer amount of blood loss, coupled with the aftereffects of the anesthesia, I bet you're not feeling so hot right now." I scoffed.

"How would you feel if you had a gaping hole in your stomach, doc? Let's just say I've definitely had better days. What's my prognosis?" Doctor Patterson shook his head in amazement as he leaned down to check on the bandages covering the wound in my stomach.

"Whatever entered you, had it entered just three millimeters further to the right, it would have punctured your liver. If you weren't in such good shape it probably would have been a lot worse. Nonetheless, you're going to have to stay off your feet for a couple days, or you risk causing a tear and re-opening your wound. Would you mind telling me what happened?" I chuckled, trying not to let the pain affect my speech.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, doc," I replied. Doctor Patterson crossed his arms across his chest.

"Try me." Not wanting to discuss the matter with someone I may not be able to trust, I decided to feign fatigue. I half-closed my eyes and yawned audibly.

"I'll tell you about it later. I'm kind of tired." I wasn't sure if he was going to buy it, but after a few moments he nodded slightly and left the room, saying he'd be back to check on me later. I let out a breath after he left, allowing my mind to drift back to the fight in the park.

_How could this have happened? In my ranger days, I could have handled a dozen putties or cogs like they were nothing. But, then again, I had my powers back in those days. _Apparently, the small ounce of power that still flowed through my body, the last remaining connection to the Morphing Grid, wasn't strong enough to help me fight Draeph and his virebots. I groaned inwardly. This was going to make getting the chest back even more difficult than I originally thought it would be.

I heard the door creak open, interrupting my train of thought. I shut my eyes quickly, to feign sleep on the off chance that it should be Dr. Patterson coming to check up on me. To my surprise, instead of the almost soundless noise of Patterson's shoes against the linoleum, I heard the loud echo of high heels reverberate off the walls, identifying this new person as a woman. I forced myself to open my eyes to see who it was, if only to satisfy my curiosity. My mouth grew dry as I saw who was approaching me. She was wearing a light pink blouse and matching miniskirt, with white high heels, and carrying a black purse in her left hand. Her straight, chestnut coloured hair cascaded down her neck to her shoulders, swaying gently from side to side as she walked. Her light brown eyes radiated concern and worry as she pulled a chair close to the bed, the chair legs sliding along the floor soundlessly, and sat down, brushing loose strands of hair from her face.

I was sure that she could sense the tension in the air as well as I did, and I knew that it wouldn't be going anywhere until one of us spoke. It was she who broke the silence.

"Hi, Tommy," she said tentatively, her voice as familiar as breathing to me. It sounded just like I remembered it in my dreams.

"Hi, Kim," I replied, trying to sound as casual as possible. Unfortunately, I'd always been terrible at covering up my feelings, especially around her, and I was almost positive that she could see through the forced nonchalance. Even still, I tried to hide it, and changed the subject quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"We found you lying on the grass in the park, unconscious. There was so much blood…" Her voice started to crack, her mask of composure slowly slipping away. "I've never seen you hurt so badly." She took my left hand in both of hers, their warmth flowing through me, counteracting the pain that I still felt. "How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly well, considering I got run through a couple hours ago." I had meant it jokingly, but it seemed like she misinterpreted me, because tears began welling up in the corners of her eyes.

"I thought you hated me after I sent…it," she started. "You barely said two words to me at the funeral, Tommy. You didn't even make an effort to stay in touch, with any of us. After everything we've been through together, I don't even warrant a phone call every now and then?" The tears in her eyes began falling freely, the barrier holding them back now completely broken. "I had to find out about this from Jason. You didn't even have the decency to let me or the others know yourself. Do you know how much that hurts?" It hurt me to see her like this, even after all these years. Ignoring the pain it caused, I reached over with my right hand, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Kim, I really am. I just…I've changed. I'm not the same person I was when I was close to all of you. That much became clear to me at the funeral." I drew my hands back, breaking contact with her. "I think you should go back outside. I have some things to think about before I see all of you, and…I don't want you to see me like this." She sniffled, got up and turned to leave. When she reached the door, she turned back to face me.

"I didn't mean to hurt you when I sent it. You know that, right?" she asked hopefully. My anger and hurt over how she broke off our relationship had long since faded, and I smiled weakly to show her that.

"I know." She returned my smile, and left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

- PRG -

_You let him get away!_

Draeph visibly cringed at his master's enraged voice. He licked his lips and made an attempt to save his hide. "I realize that I underestimated him, master, but I assure you, it will not happen again."

_See that it does not. I have invested too much in this operation to see it fail at the eleventh hour. Initiate phase two._

Draeph nodded as his master's voice faded from his mind. He walked briskly to a communication panel and opened a channel to the barracks.

"Bring me Nirril," he commanded, closing the channel before anyone on the other end had a chance to answer. He clenched his right fist and let his gaze stray to the chest, which lay unopened on a pedestal at the far end of the hall. He would make sure that Tommy Oliver wouldn't live long enough to be a threat to his master's plans.


	4. Chapter IV

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks again to all of you for your continued readership. I'm glad to see you're enjoying the story, and hopefully I'll be able to meet your expectations. On with the plot!

**Chapter IV**

Kimberly closed the door gently behind her, slumping back against it as tears threatened to engulf her once more. Jason, who had been leaning against the wall adjacent to the door solemnly, walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her in a protective embrace, letting her cry softly into his shirt. It pained him to see her like this. In all the years that he had known her, he had always considered her to be his little sister, and he had done his best to protect her from harm, both physical and emotional. In fact, while leaving the rangers to go to the Peace Conference had been difficult to come to grips with, it was his subconscious need to protect Kimberly that almost made him change his mind. He would have stayed behind while Zack and Trini went if Kimberly herself hadn't talked him into going. He remembered feeling secure in the knowledge that Tommy would be there to take care of her while he was gone. Unfortunately, when he returned to Angel Grove, some two and a half years later, things weren't as he'd left them. Kimberly had left, to train for the Pan Global Games in Florida, giving her power coin to Katherine in the process. He had tried to talk to Tommy about it, a few times, but he would always have this sad look in his eyes in the split second it took to put on a superficial smile and change the subject. The only clue Jason got to what had happened was an off-hand remark about a letter that Kim had sent, and none of the other rangers or Billy felt it was their place to tell him.

They walked back to the crowded waiting room, located a little ways down the hallway. The area was sparsely furnished, with a scattering of chairs and a few small end-tables upon which rested the occasional issue of "Reader's Digest" or "Cosmopolitan". Most of the people seated sat huddled together, talking in hushed voices, though there were the occasional few who sat by themselves, immersed in their own thoughts. He led her to the far corner, where a black man in his mid-twenties was sitting, rubbing his neck, apparently in an effort to release some tension. The man was clad in a pair of black semi-dress pants, black dress shoes and a black suit jacket overtop a purple dress shirt. His recently shaved head had a thin layer of sweat on its surface, which reflected some of the light emanating from the bulbs overhead. When he saw Jason and Kimberly approaching him, he nearly jumped out of his seat.

"How is he?" he asked. He waved to a pair of chairs beside where he was sitting, motioning for them to sit down. They lowered themselves into their respective chairs, and Kimberly retrieved a tissue from her purse to wipe the dried tears from her eyes.

"He seems to be recovering from the wound…" she whispered, doing her best to keep her composure.

"He didn't let her stay for that long," Jason commented softly. Zack sighed and shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"I have a feeling that we're going to find out why this happened soon," he said, in a half-joking, half-ominous tone of voice. Kimberly smiled, and Jason chuckled audibly, which broke the tension between the three of them.

"Where'd the others go?" Kimberly asked.

"Rocky and Adam took the girls to get a bite to eat while we took over the vigil," Zack replied, referring to Kat and Tanya. "As for Billy…"

"You haven't heard anything from Aquitar?" Jason asked. Zack shook his head.

"Nadda. Besides, I don't have the equipment to even hope to set up interstellar communications with Aquitar."

"We could try checking Billy's old garage. It's possible that his parents didn't throw out any of his stuff," Kimberly commented.

"Good point, Kim. As soon as we can get Tommy out of here, we should get over there and check things out."

"We have to see him! It's urgent!" Kimberly, Jason and Zack's heads turned in unison to the nursing station located at the far end of the hallway.

"I'm afraid visiting hours ended half an hour ago. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow like everyone else." The teenager seemed about to shoot back a retort, but the girl in yellow to his left lay a restraining hand on his shoulder, and he seemed to bite his tongue. He stalked off towards the waiting area, where the three former Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers were sitting, followed closely behind by the girl and a young black man clad in blue.

"I can't believe they won't let us see him," the teenager in blue said grumpily. The girl shrugged.

"You can't really blame them, Ethan. They have regulations to follow, and it _is_ past visiting hours." The teenager in red crossed his arms.

"None of this is making any sense. First he has that attack in the classroom, then Hayley starts freaking out, and now he's lying in a hospital bed. There's something going down, guys, and I'll bet you anything that Mesogog is behind it." Ethan scratched his jaw thoughtfully.

"That's a definite possibility, Conner. Mesogog knows that he's the one who's been helping us fight him, and it would make sense to try and take him out of the picture. What do you think, Kira?" He turned his head to look at her, noticing the worry playing lightly on her features.

"What does it matter who did it?" Conner seemed about to speak, opening his mouth, but closed his mouth soundlessly and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, as Ethan did the same.

"It'll be alright, Kira. If it takes all of our powers, we'll track down whoever did this and make them pay," Conner said with conviction, as the three of them sat down in a corner of the waiting room, avoiding making eye contact with the group seated in the corner opposite them.

"There's something strange about those kids, Jase," Zack said suddenly.

"What makes you think that?"

"There are a couple of things. They were talking about fighting some guy named Mesogog. Plus, have you noticed the way they walk? It seems to me like they've seen some action, and the action I'm talking about isn't sports related." Jason's eyebrows rose.

"Do you think they're rangers?"

"I don't know, but it's possible. Three new rangers popped up in Reefside—"

"Reefside?" Kimberly interrupted with a question.

"Yeah, it's a city about the size of Angel Grove, a couple of hours away," Zack continued. Jason shook his head in amazement.

"This is starting to make a little sense," Jason said. Kimberly and Zack both looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Reefside is the city that Tommy told me he'd moved to, and I wouldn't be surprised if he'd been involved in the creation of these new rangers." Conner's ears perked up at hearing Tommy's name, and he got up and walked over to Jason.

"Do you know Doctor O?"

"Who?" Jason asked, not bothering to look in Conner's direction.

"Doctor Oliver." Three pairs of eyes, belonging to former power rangers, turned to stare at Conner, a collective gasp of surprise caught in their throats.

"Doctor?" Kimberly asked, her voice thick with both surprise and amusement. Jason chuckled as Ethan and Kira walked over to join Conner.

"I always thought Tommy would end up becoming a race car driver. After karate, it was always his passion." Ethan's eyebrows rose.

"Race cars? Our Doctor O? I don't think so." Zack smirked.

"It's true. We didn't believe it at first either, but he really was serious about it. I'm not sure what happened to him to change his mind about racing as a career." Kira crossed her arms across her chest.

"Who exactly are you guys?"

"We were pow—" Jason began, but Kimberly clapped her hand over his mouth.

"We're old friends of Tommy's. We went to high school together," she answered, as Jason's muffled voice tried to come through Kimberly's mouth.

A crash responded to their discussion, just around the corner. The six of them reacted immediately, lining up in a row and dropping into fighting stances. They heard loud footsteps echoing off of the floor, coming at a steady pace, as the figure who caused the disturbance came closer and closer. It seemed to take an eternity for the form to come down the corridor. The six stood waiting as the form began to round the corner…and disappeared. They all whipped their heads in all directions, confusion setting in quickly. Before anyone could react, Conner, Ethan, Kira, Zack and Jason had all been thrown out of the way, crashing against the walls on either side of the waiting room. As they struggled to their feet, Kimberly felt a long, sharp blade pressed to her jugular, drawing a tiny pinprick of blood that trickled along her skin. The other five seemed about to rush forward, but the figure drew Kimberly closer to his chest.

"Ah-ah-ah, don't do anything stupid now. I can easily cut her throat before you can get close enough to save her. All I need you to do is listen to what my master has to say." Jason's fists clenched, and he said nothing as his jaw tightened, exposing the veins popping out in stark contrast to the rest of his neck. The Dino Thunder teens exchanged a glance.

"Ready, guys?" Conner asked. Ethan and Kira nodded in unison. They each quickly rotated their left wrists, in a manner similar to the way both the Zeo and Turbo Rangers called their morphers, and their morphers appeared where there gem bracelets had been mere seconds earlier. They began to go through the motions for their morphing sequence, but were stopped by the figure's words.

"What did I just say?" he asked, all hints of amusement gone from his voice. He pushed the blade tighter against Kimberly's throat, drawing a grimace from her mouth.

"Listen to him. There's too many people around, anyway," Zack said, his words informing the teens that they knew of the teens' secret. Conner swallowed hard, and moved his hand away from his morpher, as the others followed suit. They were completely at the figure's mercy.

- PRG -

My eyes snapped open as I heard a crash coming from outside. I cursed under my breath. I hadn't thought that Draeph would send someone for me so soon. I wasn't prepared, but I would have to face whatever had come for me. I threw the blanket to the side, revealing the white hospital gown the nurses had obviously dressed me in after the operation. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and lowered myself to the floor, grunting in pain as my feet touched the cold linoleum. I moved slowly to a chair sitting at the foot of the bed, where my clothes were stacked, and threw off the gown, leaving me clad in only my boxers. I pulled on my socks and pants as quickly as I could, and retrieved my shoes. I threw on my shirt, not bothering to button it up, and swung open the door, lurching out into the hallway, my right hand clutching the side of my chest.

"What did I just say?" I heard a dark figure mutter seriously, as it pressed a blade to the neck of someone clad in pink…it was Kimberly. My left fist clenched tightly, and I staggered forward as quickly as I could, feeling the wound in my abdomen beginning to tear as I moved. I tightened my lips and whistled loudly, drawing attention to myself. The figure turned to face me, keeping the knife at Kimberly's throat. Kimberly's face bore an expression of fear as she looked at me.

"Hey asshole, it's me you want. Let her go," I demanded as strongly as I could. The figure smirked.

"What's to stop me from slitting her throat right here and now?" I could feel the old rage building inside of me. I cracked my neck from side to side, embracing the feeling. I didn't like who I became when I succumbed to the rage, but right now, I needed all the strength I could get. I moved my right hand away from my abdomen, feeling blood on my palm. I looked down to see the bandage soaked through with blood. I glared at the figure darkly, wanting nothing more than to beat the living hell out of this mercenary who threatened the life of the woman I love…loved.

"If you do that," I said, boring holes in his body with my icy stare, "then I will snap your neck with my bare hands." The tone of voice I was using was one I hadn't used since my early days as a ranger, as Rita Repulsa's evil Green Ranger. I sounded completely soulless, to the point where I was beginning to scare myself. My body was completely rigid, and I could feel the blood trickling down my abdomen to form a puddle on the rim of my pants. My blood was pounding in my veins as adrenaline surged through me. I felt invigorated, but not in a good way. I felt strong. Strong enough to kill.

In my peripheral vision, I saw the others staring at me with uncertainty in their eyes. I stared at Conner for a moment, and he returned my gaze. I shifted my eyes quickly from him, to the figure, and back again. I saw a brief wave of confusion come over him, but I didn't have the time to give him the message again. I just hoped that he would realize what I had just asked him to do in time. The figure cackled in glee.

"You think that a puny human can kill the great Nirril? I would truly enjoy seeing you die making the attempt." Nirril smirked evilly, and I knew immediately what he was going to do. I ran full out for him, the searing pain in my side becoming an inconsequential thought compared to what was about to happen. _I can't lose her! Not again!_ I heard myself screaming out as Nirril moved to bring the knife across Kimberly's throat.


	5. Chapter V

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This may be getting a little tiresome to read, but thank you all for your continuing readership. I guess I have a good thing going here, and I am going to make every effort to get new chapters written as quickly as humanly possible. Now, on with the plot!

**Chapter V**

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. I was running towards Nirril in an attempt to save Kimberly, even though it was obvious that there was no way I'd be able to get to her in time. Luckily, Conner had gotten the message. Using the speed his gem afforded him, he knocked the knife away and pulled Kimberly to safety before Nirril was able to complete his killing stroke. I ate up the distance between us with a speed that startled me, and no sooner had Conner gotten Kimberly out of the way then I rammed into Nirril, driving my shoulder into his gut as I propelled the two of us towards the wall behind him. We burst through the wall, wood splinters and chunks of drywall cascading everywhere, our momentum propelling us forward, sending us sprawling to the ground in a heap.

I started pounding on him with my fists, trying to keep him grounded. I knew that if he was able to get up, I would be finished. I was hardly at full strength, and the wound in my stomach, once again bleeding freely, was a staunch reminder of that fact. My plan worked…at first. I was able to land blows on him quickly enough that he wasn't able to fight back, until he grew wise, and planted his knee into my wound. The force of the blow threw me backward, and I crashed into the wall, the wind having been knocked out of me. An overhanging picture, which had been secured to the wall, was knocked loose by the force of my body impacting the wall, and it fell, the glass shattering as it landed on my skull. I lay there, dazed and confused, trying in vain to regain my bearings. I heard heavy footsteps approaching me, and, in my blurred vision, I saw Nirril standing over me, a sadistic grin on his face. He reached down and grabbed me by the throat, lifting me off my feet. In my weakened condition, there was nothing I could do but wait for the inevitable.

"I said that you didn't have a chance against me, human. Now, you pay for your folly with your life." His grip on my throat tightened, and my hands flew up to grasp his hand on instinct, trying to break the hold before he broke my neck. Nirril glanced past me, and groaned at what he saw. His eyes met mine.

"We shall finish this another time." He let go of me, leaving me crumpled in a heap on the ground, and pressed a button concealed on his belt. In a flash of light, he was gone, teleported away. I rolled onto my back, sucking air in greedily, as Conner, Ethan and Kira stood over me, concern evident in their eyes. My eyes drifted to their wrists, where their morphers de-materialized, leaving only their bracelets behind. The gems began to emit a glow, the same way they had done in the classroom. I began to feel better, and was soon strong enough to rise to my feet on my own. I clutched my side as I saw Jason, Kimberly and Zack running towards us. The dino gems grew dark, and I looked down to see that my wound had completely healed. I had known that the gems had power, but I didn't realize how much power they wielded when used together. I smiled, and tore the bandage off of my stomach, revealing smooth skin. The only remnant of the injury was a pale scar that blended in with my skin, and was hardly noticeable. Jason, noticing that the teens were staring at the various scars on my chest, tossed me my discarded shirt. I nodded my thanks and pulled it on, swiftly buttoning up the front. I turned to the teens.

"I thought I told you guys to stay in Reefside."

"Hayley found out that you were injured, and we were worried," Kira replied.

"Yeah, Doctor O. We needed to make sure you were ok. I mean, if you had died, who would have helped us with—" Conner said.

"—our labs," Ethan interrupted, trying to silence Conner with a glance. "You know how much trouble we have with them." I chuckled, seeing the amused expression on Zack and Jason's faces. Kimberly seemed to be lightening up a little as well, though she still seemed a little pale after her experience with Nirril.

"It's alright, guys. You don't have to talk so cryptically with them. I'm sure they've figured it out by now." Ethan turned to look at the former rangers.

"You mean you know?" Zack's eyebrows rose.

"Know what? Know that you're power rangers, or that the excuse you just gave was the flimsiest one I've ever heard?" Conner put his hand over his mouth in an attempt to stifle his laughter as Ethan glared at him. I chuckled lightly.

"You three don't have to worry about it. These guys will keep your secret," I responded. Jason, Kimberly and Zack all nodded, and introductions were exchanged. I pulled Jason aside as the rangers, current and past, chatted.

"I have to go pick up a few things, bro. What say you get all the others together and meet me at Billy's garage in about a half hour? I'll explain everything there." Jason nodded, and I grasped forearms with him briefly before I took off running down the hall of the hospital, tearing off my patient's wristband and letting it fall lightly to the ground.

- PRG -

It felt strange teleporting again, after all these years. Hell, I was surprised that the teleportation grid was operational at all. The tingly feeling I always used to get was still there, albeit a little more intense then I remembered it. I glanced down at my old communicator, which I had made sure to bring with me before I left my place. The metallic centerpiece that couldn't possibly have passed for a watch upon closer inspection still looked the way it did when it first came out of Billy's garage. The likewise-metallic wristband, lined with fabric of three colours interwoven together, the colours I had once donned as a ranger, felt smooth against the skin of my palm. It felt good having it with me again; even if it was for a task I wished I didn't have to do. I put the communicator back into my pocket and brought my arm up, using my forearm to shield my eyes against the bright sunshine that beat down from overhead. The dry, barren wasteland landscape that surrounded me brought back memories of my time as a ranger. The jagged, rocky cliffs, dust rolling off them in a dense cloud, jutted out among the flat desert terrain. My eyes swept across the view, the topography slowly becoming familiar again, until I found what I was looking for.

I adjusted the storage container on my shoulder and started at a jog, making my way around the obstacles and natural rock formations in my path until I reached the ruins. Malformed pieces of metal lay scattered within a radius of a metre from the focal point. Taking my time, being careful not to slice my palms open, I moved the largest fragments, tossing them into a pile a short distance from me, until I saw a hole leading downward. I crouched down, gazing at the steep rock face, trying to gauge whether or not I could climb down. The wall looked to be solid enough, with enough outcroppings that could be used as hand and footholds, so I began to make my way down slowly, knowing full well that one slip would most likely lead to my death. I scaled down the wall, each movement of my hands sending a small swirl of dust floating towards the ground, feeling my heart beginning to pound fervently against my ribcage. It didn't stop until my feet were planted firmly on the sandy ground of the cavern, and even then it took a few deep breaths to stay the speedy beating of the organ.

The sunlight from above ground flooded into the cavern, illuminating my way, which was quite lucky, considering I had forgotten to bring _anything_ that may have been useful in my endeavor. I glanced down at my watch. I had about fifteen minutes until I was supposed to meet the others. I picked up my pace, quickly making my way through until I reached a metallic door that lay partially open. I pulled the doors apart as much as I could and jumped through the opening, landing lightly on my feet on the other side. This was the room I had been looking for. It looked different then it did the last time I had been there. The familiar sights and sounds that I had been accustomed to were gone, replaced with a hollow silence, and a thick layer of dust on the ground. I crossed the expansive room, stopping to stand in front of a row of cylindrical tubes, set into the wall.

I reached out my hand to the nearest tube, brushing some of the dust from its surface. It clung to my hand, but I ignored it, and continued brushing it until I saw white light and the gleam of metal coming from inside. I set the storage container down, brushing the dust from my hand, and took off my shirt, rapping it tightly around my right fist. I took a breath, cocked it back and drove it forward as hard as I could. I felt it connect solidly with the tube…and promptly bounce off, sending a jolt through my arm. I groaned aloud, shaking my arm slightly to get the feeling back. _I never thought it would be this tough to crack._ I set myself up in front of the tube once more, channeling every ounce of energy I had into my fist. This time, the blow struck true, shattering the covering, letting light fall upon the objects inside for the first time in many years. Unwrapping my shirt from my fist, I put it back on and brushed the jagged shards of glass from the rim of the tube, being careful not to slice open my palms on the sharp edges. I picked the storage container up, setting it on the bottom of the tube, and touched my fingers to pads on either end of it. With a loud _hiss_, the container opened, and I quickly placed the objects inside the tube into the container. I paused at the last object. I smiled slightly as I felt its weight in my hand. _It's been a long time._ I placed it into the container with the others, and closed it quickly. Near the back of the tube, there lay a chest, identical in design to the one Draeph had stolen, except for one major difference: on its lid, five symbols were emblazoned in gold. An oval. Two rectangular bars. A triangle. A rectangle. A five-pointed star. As I reached out to take it, the pain returned with a vengeance.

I fell to my knees, cursing inwardly, as the pain coursed through me like wildfire. If something like this had happened once, I could have written it off as coincidence, perhaps some sort of backlash from the injuries I received as a ranger, but twice, I knew instinctively that it had something to do with the contents of the chest. It was no coincidence that as soon as it fell into evil hands, my attacks had started. I gritted my teeth, trying to focus through the pain. The pain intensified, and I knew that if I didn't do something in the next few moments, I would become unconscious. I crawled forward, pain racking my body. I reached up, extending my arm to grasp for the chest, but it was just out of reach. With one final burst of strength, I lunged forward, and managed to knock the chest off, into my outstretched hand. I sighed with relief as the pain finally began to subside. Evidently, the power emanating from the chest helped stave off the pain in the same way the Dino Gems did. As I lay on the ground, cheek touching the cold floor, hand firmly gripping the chest, I came to a realization. _If these attacks get any worse, they could kill me. _I slowly pushed myself to my feet, wiping the sweat from my brow, glancing at my watch in the process. Cursing inwardly, I slung the storage container over my shoulder, retrieved my communicator from my pocket, and initiated transport, losing myself in the blinding light.

- PRG -

The room was dark, save for a small candle casting its pale glow against the onyx-coloured wall. Various symbols, support and protection glyphs, lined the walls, engraved with care on every square inch of the walls. The room had no furniture in it, nor any objects of comfort. It was in this room that Draeph sat, deep in meditation. His broadsword, housed firmly in its sheath, lay on the floor beside him. He had spent many hours in this room: training, resting, thinking. These rooms allowed him to get away from his duties, for however brief a time, and think freely, without the need to conform his thoughts to his actions. Even his master chose to respect his occasional need for solitude, and did not disturb him there, except for emergencies.

Draeph had been a renowned warrior in the universe long before his master had found him. During his days as a mercenary, Draeph's reputation allowed him the luxury of having the choicest of jobs laid before him on the proverbial silver platter. Indeed, he was not used to failure, of any kind, which is why Nirril's defeat and subsequent retreat enraged him. He rose to his feet, cracking his knuckles as he bent to retrieve his sword. Slinging it to rest on his hip, he turned and walked out of the room; pausing briefly to blow out the candle, ready to face his master's wrath.

- PRG -

I had teleported myself back to the park, so that I could pick up my jeep. Imagine my surprise when I found that I received a parking ticket! Apparently, I had parked in a no-parking zone, and got busted for it. I groaned, half-crumpling the yellow ticket in my hand before stuffing it in my glove compartment. My detour to pick up the jeep cost me a good fifteen minutes, and when I got to Billy's old house, everyone else was already there, waiting for me. I got out of the jeep, slamming the door lightly behind me, and retrieved both the storage container and the chest from the backseat. I walked with purpose towards the others, who moved to get up from their seats. I motioned for them to sit back down. The closer I got, the more of the garage I was able to see. It had changed quite dramatically since the last time I'd been there. All of the odds and ends, the various gadgets that Billy had created to help us in our battles against Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, were all gone, leaving the garage a shell of what it once was. All that remained was the metallic, waist-level table, at which everyone was seated. I placed the two objects I was carrying on a nearby counter, and turned to address the group. Apparently, Jason had been able to find a reason to send the Dino teens back to Reefside, because only the other Ranger alumni were here.

"First of all, I just want to say that it's great seeing you all together again. It's been a long time. After all that's happened over the past day, I'm sure you're all wondering why I called you together. A little over a day ago, something that I had hidden long ago was taken from it's resting place by a warrior named Draeph. His reputation throughout the universe is second to none. Before becoming second-in-command to a supremely powerful evil entity whose identity I don't know, he was the greatest mercenary in the known worlds. He has never failed to complete an assignment, and has collected every major bounty issued in the last decade." Adam crossed his arms across his chest.

"Enough with the suspense, Tommy. What did he take?" I took a deep breath to steady myself.

"There were two items in the chest that Draeph stole. One was the Dragon Dagger. The other, the Dragonzord power coin."

- PRG -

So what do you all think? I need reviews, because I'm coming to a crossroads on a key event in the upcoming plot, so I need input. Thanks in advance.


	6. Chapter VI

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, I got nominated for Fanfic of the Month. That's really an honour, and I want to thank all of you for your support, and for continuing to read. This chapter is going to lay down a lot of the main plotline for the rest of the story, though there are some subplots that won't be revealed for a while yet. I hope you all like it. Keep an eye out for callbacks to past PR episodes. And I think you guys would like to know that I intentionally made this chapter a hell of a lot longer because you guys seemed to think that it was good enough to be FFotM. Enjoy!

**Chapter VI**

Seven pairs of eyes stared at me in shock after the revelation I had just laid on them. Jason was the first to speak.

"How is that possible?" he asked.

"It's a long story. It all started about 10 years ago, with a lock of hair. A lock of _my_ hair, to be more precise."

"Of course. The Wizard of Deception," Adam replied, snapping his fingers as the realization hit him. I nodded, noticing that Jason and Zack had no idea what he was talking about. It made sense, of course, considering they had been in Switzerland at the Peace Conference when the even happened.

"That's right, Adam. As you all know, the power of the original Dragonzord coin was completely drained after the fight with Turbanshell. However, when the Wizard of Deception created the clone from my lock of hair, he somehow managed to draw out the residual green morphing energy in my body. Using that energy, and amplifying it using the power of his staff, he created a duplicate Dragonzord coin, which was equal in power to my White Tiger coin. After Tom and I were able to bring you guys back to the present, I tried to convince him to come back with me, but he refused. He wanted to start a new life for himself, and didn't want anything to do with Zordon or the rest of us. After a little bit of convincing, I was able to get him to agree to hide the coin and Dragon Dagger in a chest with a built-in homing device that was designed by Zordon. We buried it together in the desert a few hundred kilometers north of Angel Grove. I've been monitoring the signal since I was in grad school, but yesterday, Draeph unearthed the chest and dampened the signal from the beacon, making it impossible to track." Zack crossed his arms across his chest.

"What possible reason could anyone have to want the coin? I mean, the dagger I can understand, but the coin? Surely there have to be morphing technologies that are more sophisticated and more powerful than our coins were."

"That's a bit harder to explain, Zack. After I passed on my Turbo morpher to T.J., I went to drive for my uncle's stock car team. Things were going great at first, but halfway through the season I got into a pretty serious crash. I suffered a severe concussion, and I was forced to sit out the rest of the season, watching my teammates drive from the sidelines." They listened in mute silence, the surprise evident on their faces, as I described what had happened after the events leading up to the passing on of the Turbo powers. I continued.

"I tried various things to keep myself occupied, but nothing seemed to stick. Eventually, one afternoon, I found myself cleaning up my apartment, of all things. While sorting through a box of meaningless trinkets I had accumulated over the years, I came across this." I retrieved the communicator from my pocket and showed them all, emphasizing the point.

"It got me thinking about the good old days. About the Dragonzord. Of all the zords I've ever controlled or piloted, the Dragonzord has always been the closest to my heart. It seemed to show some innate intelligence that I didn't think was possible in a piece of technology. I began researching dinosaurs and other ancient beasts that lived during that time, absorbing every piece of information I could get my hands on. I found my interest in the subject not decreasing, but increasing, at what seemed like an exponential rate. I inquired at several nearby colleges and universities about attending school in the field of archaeology. Every school I tried told me that I either didn't have the grades or I didn't have all of the required classes, so I went back to Angel Grove High, and talked to Mr. Kaplan. He was able to help me find some night classes that would help me boost my average enough that I could get into the program I wanted."

"During my third year of grad school, while on a dig with my former colleague, Anton Mercer, I stumbled upon three dino gems, buried a few metres away from the skull of a Styracosaurus in southern Alberta, Canada. The moment I picked them up, I could sense the power lying dormant inside of them, and I knew that eventually someone would come along who would try and harness their powers for evil. I realized what I had to do. A friend of mine who I met in school, Hayley, who's a technical genius on a par with Billy, agreed to help me create Dino Morphers, to be used in an emergency situation should the Earth need Power Rangers once more. During the design process, while doing research on power conversion techniques, I came across an obscure reference to an ancient set of armor, called the Armor of Os-Worim, in a text I had borrowed from Angela Fairweather at Lightspeed. She had an extensive library of tomes and texts containing information on demons and other non-human species from ancient times, and agreed to allow me to use them. Eventually, I was able to sift through the myth and legends, and come up with a reasonably plausible extrapolated history of the origin of the armor."

"Many generations ago, long before Ninjor created our original power coins, there lived a wise sage known as Os-worim. He belonged to a sect of sorcerers known as the Morphing Masters, the same Morphing Masters who hid the Power Eggs that Rita Repulsa tried to recover years ago. He was skilled in the ancient arts of sorcery and alchemy, and his sect created what we know of as the Morphing Grid. Os-worim's six chosen warriors, knights of the highest order of Tyris, were the first Power Rangers, and fought against Master Vile, who, at that point, was not content with controlling only Galaxy M51. With the aid of his children, Rita and Rito, they created a warrior of immense power, Yerath, who was too strong for the rangers to overcome. The war was going badly, and the free peoples of the galaxy feared that they would fall under the iron fist of Vile. Os-worim, in order to help his warriors combat Yerath and Vile, created a set of armor for the rangers to use to battle them. He distributed one piece to each ranger: weapon to red, left forearm to blue, right forearm to black, left shin to pink, right shin to yellow, and shield to green. Using the armor, the rangers were able to handily defeat Yerath, and turned the tide of the war, eventually forcing Vile into a tactical retreat back to his own territory. After the final victory, Os-worim retrieved the armor and scattered it throughout his king's castle, informing each ranger of the location of their specific piece, and their piece only, to keep their locations safe."

"All was well for a time, but that was shattered by a shocking action perpetrated by the most unlikely of people. The blue ranger, Ilero, who was second in command, had allowed his lust for the power of the complete set of armor grow, to the point where it became his obsession. Under the pretense of helping an old friend, he convinced Os-worim to allow him to take his piece of the armor, after which he promptly attacked him, knocking him unconscious. After hiding his body, he informed his comrades of their master's 'disappearance', and told them they would need the power of the armor to defeat whatever had kidnapped him. After they retrieved the armor, however, Ilero killed them, and stole their pieces, bringing him closer both to ultimate power and insanity. Kelt, the green ranger, caught wind of Ilero's plot, and managed to retrieve his shield and evade him, choosing a battleground that he was familiar with for their final confrontation. A large-scale battle between the two former friends ensued, destroying much of the landscape around them. When all was said and done, Kelt, who was near death himself, had killed Ilero, and retrieved the armor from his prone, battered corpse. After returning the armor to Os-worim, he was rewarded by being allowed to keep his shield permanently. It was bonded to the source of his power, and would remain so for all time."

"Exactly how powerful is this armor?" Kat asked.

"If all six pieces are worn by the same person, their power would rival that of a god." Silence filled the garage as my words sank in.

"So how does the Dragonzord coin figure in to all of this?" Rocky asked.

"The way that Os-worim designed the armor, it can only be wielded by someone in possession of powers connected in some way, however small, to the Morphing Grid. Obviously, the coin still holds a connection, but more so than that, Ninjor created the power coins by basing them off of the original powers created by Os-worim, which included the power of the original green ranger. The Dragon Shield is one of the six pieces of the Armor of Os-worim."

"Which means that Draeph has one of the pieces," Jason finished for me. I nodded solemnly.

"That's right, Jase, and that's why I've called you all together." I turned to the counter behind me, retrieved the two storage containers and placed them on the table. "I need you to help me."

- PRG -

The sound of steel clashing against steel reverberated loudly in the sparring chamber, echoing off the walls. Nirril entered the room tentatively, unsure of what reaction to expect from Draeph regarding his failure to kill Tommy Oliver. He stood near the entrance to the room, leaning against the wall, watching with interest as Draeph worked out. Even against five virebots equipped with advanced tactical programming and a mastery in sword fighting, the speed and fluidity of his movements utterly baffled Nirril. Parrying, countering, evading, striking. It was like watching a dance. A dance with death. It was obvious to Nirril that Draeph was holding back considerably. How could he have such skill with a blade? With the ability Draeph obviously had, there was no apparent use for Nirril's services.

Draeph, apparently realizing he was being watched, picked up the pace, and effortlessly reduced the virebots to smoldering heaps of debris, smoking and sizzling on the ground. He sheathed his sword and turned to Nirril, gesturing him to come forward. Nirril approached, stepping carefully over the remains of the virebots and bowed slightly to his employer.

"Draeph," he said, in a respectful, almost reverent tone. Draeph crossed his arms across his chest, boring holes through Nirril with his cold gaze.

"You have failed me, Nirril. Oliver is not dead, and he has contacted his allies. They will soon try to circumvent my master's plans." Nirril cringed at Draeph's words.

"I am sorry. I was not prepared for the presence of those bearing the power. With no hostage to threaten with, my tactical edge was lost. I was forced to retreat, there was no other alternative." Nirril lowered himself to one knee. "Please, give me another chance. I will prove to you that your money was well spent." Draeph motioned for him to rise, moving to stand directly in front of him.

"My master does not accept failure, Nirril." What came next happened too quickly for Nirril to comprehend. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, and looked down to see Draeph's sword driven though his breastplate. He looked into Draeph's eyes, blood bubbling out of his mouth to splatter to the floor.

"And neither do I," Draeph finished, jerking his sword out of Nirril's body and wiping the blood off of the blade with Nirril's sleeve. He kicked Nirril in the chest, sending him tumbling down to lie amongst the debris of the virebots. He snapped his fingers, and a subservient entered the room.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Take this pathetic excuse for a mercenary to the infirmary, and send someone in here to clean up this mess." He walked out of the room, leaving the subservient to stare in awe at Nirril's barely breathing form.

- PRG -

"We understand that you need help, Tommy, but how do you expect us to do anything without our powers?" Tanya asked quizzically. Her question brought a slight smile to my lips.

"I was wondering when one of you would ask that. About two years ago, I recruited nine other red rangers, including Jason, for a covert operation codenamed Forever Red. Billy managed to stabilize the Morphing Grid enough to allow the power coins to be used safely, albeit on a limited basis. Did you all bring them?" Jason, Kimberly and Zack all nodded, bringing forth their old morphers out of their pockets. The morphers looked damaged; the coins, once bright and shining, were now streaked through with black char marks. Adam leaned forward.

"Are you sure about that, Tommy? The last time I tried to morph using the Mastadon coin, it damn near killed me." Zack turned to face Adam.

"It's alright, man. I trust Tommy, and if Billy was the one who was working on the Grid, then I have nothing to worry about." Jason and Kimberly nodded in agreement simultaneously.

"Besides, I used my Tyrannosaurus coin during the mission, and I didn't have any problems with it." Rocky raised his hand.

"Uh, question: why wasn't I invited to come on this mission? I was a red ranger too, you know." I chuckled slightly.

"There's two reasons why, Rocko. First, there's only one Tyrannosaurus power coin, and there were two of you. I had to go with the one with more experience. Second, in case you forgot, I _did_ ask you to come, but you refused, remember?" Rocky smiled meekly as the memory came back to him.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." The others burst out laughing, and even Rocky couldn't help but chuckle at his own spotty memory.

"And I thought I was the one who was supposed to be terrible at remembering things," I said, sending the others into another fit of laughter. I took my own morpher out of my back pocket, subconsciously spinning it slowly in my hand. With my other hand, I drew one of the storage containers towards me, opened it, and withdrew the small chest inside it. Clipping my old morpher to my belt buckle, I took the chest in both hands, opened the lid, and turned it to face the others. Five small crystals lay inside, each in the shape of a piece of the Zeo Crystal. I placed the chest in the center of the table, withdrawing my own star-shaped piece from the soft velvet. The power of the crystal flowed through my body once again, as my skin gained a faint red glow as my nervous system grew accustomed to the powers once more. The others similarly reached for their crystals, and gained a similar glow.

"I'm sure you guys recognize these. These crystal fragments are a part of the Zeo Sub-crystals. They'll allow each of you access to your zeonizers again." I flicked my wrists, one clockwise, the other counter-clockwise, and my zeonizers materialized in twin flashes of red light.

"Hey, Tommy, what's in the other container, man?" Zack asked. I smiled slightly.

"That's what I'm going to show you right now." I moved the now empty storage container to the ground and moved the other one towards me. I opened it, and reached my hand inside, feeling my fingers brush against cold metal. I removed the top-most item from the container and held it reverently in my hands for the other to see. Jason pushed himself to his feet, his hands planted firmly on the table.

"My sword…" he whispered, licking his chapped lips. I nodded slightly, and extended it to him. He took it from me, gripping the hilt in his right hand and running the fingertips of his left hand along the blade. His head turned slightly as he examined his weapon. "It's different than I remember it."

"That's because it _is_ different. Just prior to the destruction of our powers, Zordon was working with Ninjor on a way to upgrade our power weapons. They have many of the same properties as the originals, with a few significant changes. They're much lighter than their normal counterparts, and can be used at full strength even when you aren't morphed." I quickly withdrew the others' weapons and handed them over. I lay the final pair original weapons lightly on the table.

"What about those?" Kimberly asked, pointing to the Power Daggers and Power Lance.

"I'm going to keep them with me. As soon as I can get a hold of Aisha and Billy, I'm going to give them to them. But until then, they won't do anyone much good lying here collecting dust," I replied, gesturing at the container. I reached in to withdraw the last of the weapons lying in the container. I held it, hilt up, and brought it close to my face, my eyes shining in remembrance. "Welcome back, Saba."

- PRG -

The man stopped the motorcycle in front of the steps to the temple, removing the key from the ignition and putting it in the pocket of his leather jacket. He removed his helmet, running his hand through his short blond hair. He placed the helmet on the seat of the bike, and walked with purpose up the front steps to stand in front of the large bell in the middle of the temple. This was the final time he would ever come here. This had once been a place where he had reminisced about his father, but now it only served to be a painful reminder of what he had lost.

"I thought I might find you here." The man turned to find a white-haired black man in black sweater, with a pendant hanging around his neck, approaching him. His eyes narrowed, a look of disgust in his gaze.

"You've got some balls coming here, Professor," he said, his fists clenching involuntarily at his sides.

"I know that you're hurting, Ryan, but you can't turn your back on your duty. If there's ever another threat…"

"I don't care!" Ryan yelled, taking two fistfuls of the professor's shirt. "I lost two people I loved because I did my 'duty'!" Ryan reached upwards, to his own neck, got a grip on a thin string, and gave a sharp tug, snapping it. He held the object, a pendant with a circular topaz embedded in its center, in front of the professor's face. He jerked his hand to his right, tossing the pendant away. He heard it bounce against the steps, and let go of the professor. "I'm through with you. I'm through with all of it." He turned, and began to walk quickly back to his bike. The professor moved to follow him.

"Ryan…" Ryan stopped, and glanced back over his shoulder, a cold look in his eyes.

"Fuck you, professor. I don't give a damn how sorry you are. This is my decision, and I've made it. Stay out of my life." Without a second glance, he stalked off towards his bike. The professor sighed as he watched a bitter, angry young man walk away from everything he had once believed in. Crouching on the roof of the temple, a virebot saw the entire encounter, storing it in his memory banks, before disappearing in a bright teleport beam to report to his master. Lying discarded on the steps of the temple, the pendant glowed brightly, reflecting the sunlight shining from above.

- PRG -

A tall, formidable looking form materialized in the middle of Angel Grove Park, to the astonishment of a group of children playing nearby. Their jaws dropped in awe as the form looked first left, then right, sweeping his gaze across the green landscape. It was clad in bright yellow and black armor. Its breastplate had a large emerald embedded in its center, with five smaller ones branching out in different directions: one each to the northeast and northwest, one each to the southeast and southwest, and one to the south. They were embedded in depressions in the plate, connected by grey lines to converge on the large emerald. Its legs were clad in a black Kevlar-like material, with yellow shin guards and boots. Its helmet was silver, with a black strip running from the back of the helmet to the top of the visor, about two-thirds the width of the helmet. Twin antennae extended from either side of it. It carried two weapons: a mechanized broadsword hanging from its right hip, and a silver, one-handed double-barreled shotgun-like weapon, sitting comfortably in a holster on its left hip.

It walked forward at an even pace, approaching the area where, mere hours before, Tommy Oliver had nearly been killed. It glanced down at the ground beside the picnic table. It knelt on its right knee, taking a handful of dirt in its gauntleted hand. It held the earth up to its visor, scanning it for traces of anything unusual. Its heads-up displayed flashed rapidly inside its helmet as the scan picked up what it was looking for. It rose to its feet, letting the soil fall from its hand.

"He's here," it muttered grimly. Taking one last sweeping glance around itself, it leapt into the air, using its speed to disappear from view. The hunt had begun.

- PRG -

Whew, that was a lot of exposition. Now that that's out of the way, hopefully you guys will have a bit better understanding of where this story will generally be going. But don't worry, I still have plenty of curveballs to throw you guys. Well, 'till the next time, I hope you enjoy the longer chapter. Comments and suggestions are welcome, as always. Later.


	7. Chapter VII

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know. I know. I've taken way too long to update. I lay myself at the mercy of my readers, and hope that this chapter will make up for some of it. As always, comments (good and bad) are welcome. I hope you like it.

**Chapter VII**

It started with a punch, and then a sting to the jaw. A fighter clad in a black gi tumbled to the ground, while his opponent, clad in a white gi, stood over him, his attention remaining focused on his fallen foe. The two were competing in the final match of the annual Angel Grove Grand Dragon Tournament, a martial arts competition inviting fighters from Angel Grove and the surrounding cities and towns to compete for the Grand Dragon Trophy. The tournament, which focused exclusively on point-based singles match-ups, was run in conjunction with the Golden Pipe Tournament, which focused on form and katas, and was typically the highlight of the martial arts calendar year.

The white-clad fighter remained stoic, his muscles still tensed, observing his fallen adversary with evident caution playing across his features. The black-clad fighter punched the mat, cursing under his breath as the referee awarded his opponent two points for the successful takedown. The score read ten points a piece. With less than a minute remaining in the match, it was apparent to the spectators, as well as the fighters, that a well-executed series of maneuvers in the final moments of the match would determine the victor. Allowing his anger at being taken down so easily cloud his judgment, the black-clad figure charged his opponent recklessly, his left hand reaching out while his right hand drew back, preparing to strike a blow that threatened to nigh on flatten his opponent. Sadly, for the fighter, the intended blow never struck home. His black belt fluttering slightly as he moved, the white-clad fighter easily sidestepped, clamping his hands upon his opponent's outstretched left arm, and handily tossed him over his shoulder, landing a quick punch to his gut while he lay sprawled on the mat. The referee signaled a break, and awarded four points for the throw and takedown, as the final bell sounded, making the final score fourteen to ten in favour of the fighter in white.

"The winner of the Grand Dragon Tournament, representing Tao Dojo, J.B. Reese," the referee announced, raising the hand on J.B.'s side in victory. "Bow to me, bow to each other." The fighters did so, and afterwards shook hands, congratulating the other on a well-fought match. As they parted ways, J.B. accepted the proffered trophy from the referee, nodded his thanks and, with a smile, walked over to Tao, the head of the dojo and his good friend.

"Well done, J.B. You represented the dojo honourably," Tao said, placing a hand warmly on J.B.'s shoulder.

"Thank you, sensei," J.B. replied, bowing slightly. He opened his mouth to say more, but he heard the distinct ring of his cell phone cut through the peripheral noise. Excusing himself apologetically, he walked over to his gear bag, still smiling. He set down the trophy, retrieved his cell phone and answered it, bringing it swiftly to his ear.

"Hello?" The smile slowly faded from his face as he listened to the voice on the other end of the line. His face visibly paled, and it took some effort to swallow past the lump slowly growing in his throat. "I'll be right there, professor," he replied, quickly hanging up. His hands moved quickly, placing all of his effects into his bag, and zipping it up. He slung it over his right shoulder, picked up the trophy once more, and walked swiftly over to Tao. He handed his sensei the trophy.

"There's something I need to take care of, sensei. Can you take this back to the dojo for me?" he asked quickly. While his voice remained calm, his eyes belied the impatience and doubt he was feeling. Tao looked at his pupil uncertainly.

"Of course, J.B. What is the matter?" J.B.'s mind scrambled to come up with an excuse.

"It's a…family emergency," he said quickly. In reality, it was probably the nearest answer he could give to the truth, without putting Tao in unnecessary danger. "I'll explain as soon as I can." Without another word, he dashed out of the Juice Bar, leaving a bewildered Tao standing with the trophy in his hands.

- PRG -

"Do we have any way of tracking down the coin?" Adam asked. I scratched my chin thoughtfully, glancing down at Saba. He was not speaking, a sign that he didn't have any suggestions on the matter, which I found rather odd, considering how opinionated he had been while I was the White Ranger. A thought occurred to me.

"We might, but it's a long-shot," I said, putting my thought into words. "The Dragon Dagger." The others looked at me in confusion.

"Whoa, hold up," Zack said skeptically. "I thought you just said that this Draeph guy has it." I shook my head.

"Not exactly. You see, what he has are the identical copies of both the coin and Dagger, the ones created by the Wizard of Deception. I still have the original Dragon Dagger. I held on to it as a keepsake; a memento of my time as the Green Ranger. It's still in my lab at Reefside." I withdrew my cell phone from the depths of my pocket. "I'll call Hayley right now, and get her to bring it up to us. Plus, if we're lucky, she'll be able to help us establish contact with Aquitar, so we can get in touch with Billy." I dialed Hayley's number, and placed the phone on the table, putting it on speaker so that everyone could hear. It rang twice before she picked up.

"Hayley, it's me. Are you in my lab?"

"Yes, Tommy," her voice answered. "Are you feeling better?" I smiled.

"Yeah, much better, thanks. I need you to do something for me. Go to the southwestern corner of the lab, by the power generator. Place your right hand on the largest Dino Thunder symbol you see on the wall. It's a palm print reader. It will give you access to my vault. I need you to take out the Dagger that's inside of it. Quickly." I stopped talking, listening as intently as the others were while her footsteps resounded from the earpiece of the phone.

"Alright, Tommy, I have it, but I think something's wrong." In the background, I heard a faint melancholic melody playing softly.

"What is it?"

"The blade is glowing green…and there's some kind of song coming from the hilt." I swallowed hard.

"Hold it up to the receiver. I need to hear the song more clearly." The melody grew louder as she did what I asked. It was a melody that I had heard only once before, in a discussion with Zordon while he was explaining to me the power of the Dagger. "I need you to bring it here as quickly as possible, Hayley. I'm with my jeep, so you can follow the GPS signal."

"Alright. I'll be there in a couple hours. What should I tell the kids?" I thought for a moment.

"Don't tell them anything. It's better if they don't know. They're going to need to stay alert for Mesogog with neither of us there to help them. I'll talk to you when you get here." I hung up the phone, putting it back in its place in my pocket.

"What does that song mean?" Kat asked, voicing the question everyone so obviously had.

"That melody means that the power has been accessed. Someone has morphed with the coin."

- PRG -

J.B. turned the engine to his car off, and got out slowly, surveying his surroundings cautiously. The professor had asked him to meet him here, in West Union Park, as soon as he possibly could. He pondered the professor's final statement of their conversation as he walked. "Be prepared for anything," he had said. Gently fingering the pendent around his neck, J.B. knew that he was ready for the "anything" that had been spoken of.

He eventually saw the professor sitting against the base of a large statue, facing away from him. He picked up his pace, continuing to walk until he was standing approximately a metre behind him. He stopped, appraising the situation cautiously. There didn't seem to be anyone in the immediate vicinity, but something just didn't feel right to him. Perhaps it was the noise, or rather, the lack of noise, that bothered him. The sounds one might typically find in a park, kids' laughter, birds chirping, were all absent, replaced by an eerie silence that unnerved him greatly.

"Professor?" he asked tentatively, reaching a hand out to place on the man's shoulder. As soon as he made contact, the body slumped on its side, revealing the large pool of blood that lay beneath it. He took a step back, paling visibly at the horrific sight in front of him. The corpse of Professor Hart, his mentor, lay cold on the grass, a gaping hole where his heart should have been. He was jarred from his feelings of grief by the sound of laughter. He spun around in confusion, trying to pinpoint the laughter, which seemed to be coming from nowhere in particular. The laughter seemed to intensify, growing more maniacal in nature the louder it got.

"Show yourself, damn it!" he yelled, his fists balling of their own accord at his sides. He heard a soft thud behind him, and he whirled instinctively, lunging forward with a right cross. His attack never landed. He found his fist being gripped firmly in a white-gloved hand.

"Guess who."

- PRG -

"Where's she going?" Conner asked, pointing at Hayley, who was walking swiftly out of Tommy's house, a small object clutched tightly to her chest. The Dino teens were crouched behind some shrubs flanking the driveway, out of sight.

"Maybe she's going to make a delivery," Ethan replied, not realizing the irony of his statement. Conner scoffed.

"Dude, we just met her a few hours ago and you already know her schedule?" he said derisively.

"It's just a guess," Ethan said, not meeting Conner's gaze. Kira shook her head.

"Will you two stop it? Look," she said, gesturing back to Hayley, who had just opened the door to a car parked in the driveway. Shutting the door behind her, she gunned the engine, and took off out of the driveway, tires screeching in her wake. As soon as Hayley had turned onto the street, Conner got to his feet and jogged over to his dad's car, which the teens had used to get toe Tommy's house. Ethan and Kira followed him, more slowly.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Conner lowered himself into the driver's seat.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm following her." He turned the key in the ignition, gunning the engine. "Are you guys coming or not?" Ethan and Kira exchanged a glance before climbing into the car.

- PRG -

escaped his lips as his back connected solidly with the thick tree trunk where the professor's corpse lay. He found himself laying facedown on the grass, wheezing as he tried to breathe, his right arm immersed in the crimson pool of blood that streamed from the professor's body. He pushed himself to his knees, spitting up blood and sucking in air greedily, and stared hatefully at his attacker.

He walked slowly, steadily towards J.B., obviously taking great pleasure in inflicting pain, bodily and otherwise. He was clad from head to toe in green and white body armor, with diamond patterns, large and small, wrapping around his figure. His white boots and gloves with golden lining moved back and forth in rhythm as he approached J.B.'s fallen form. A black-hilted dagger hung on his right hip, within easy reach of his hand, and a red blade-like weapon hung from his left hip. A large golden shield, extending past the shoulder in both directions, covered the majority of his torso and neck. His helmet was one that the media and general population of Angel Grove was very familiar with, although it had been years since its last appearance; a helmet in the shape of a dragon's head, whose visor lay within the mouth, with a grey mouthpiece located just below it.

Green Ranger chuckled as J.B. pushed himself to his feet, breathing heavily. His gloved hand pulled the dagger out of its holster, and presented it to J.B. for inspection. Its blade was still stained a deep crimson from the professor's blood.

"You don't have to worry about him. He didn't suffer…ok, that's a lie, but I made his death quick when I was finished with him, which is more than I can say for you."

"Why?" J.B. asked angrily, through gritted teeth. Green Ranger shrugged.

"He was a mistake that needed to be corrected," he stated simply, gesturing at the corpse with the bloody dagger. "I only have a problem with you if you make one. Don't do anything stupid." J.B. pointed directly at Green Ranger.

"You're not going to get away with killing the professor. I'll make sure of that," he swore, gripping his pendent tightly. He held it up in front of him, saying the words he had not spoken for quite some time, the words he never thought he'd need to say again. "Trooper Transform!"

The sapphire embedded in the pendent glowed with power as the transformation began to occur. The suit materialized in a bright flash of light, and with it came the same surge of adrenaline he remembered from the old days. It barely took a moment, but when it was finished the form of J.B. Reese no longer stood in the park. In his place stood a VR Trooper. His armor was coloured in alternating sections of red and black, with the occasional silver streak. His gauntlets were silver, and connected straight into forearm guards, which were also silver. His lower body consisted of reinforced black leggings covered with silver boots that extended up a little ways past his knees. A blaster holster hung off his right hip, within easy reach of his hand, and a small cylindrical object hung off the other hip.

The two combatants circled each other grimly, neither giving the other an inch of ground. J.B. could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage inside the suit as he took the object from his hip. With the press of a button, a blade sprung out of one end. He could get the vision of the bloodstained dagger out of his mind. His neck tensed of its own accord as he felt his anger boiling beneath the surface. His gloved fist tightened around the hilt of the sword, and he addressed Green Ranger.

"You picked the wrong man to fuck with," he said. Green Ranger chuckled loudly, shaking his head.

"You're not going to let this go, are you? Well, you'll get what's coming to you. What say we get this over with, hmm?" J.B. nodded grimly.

"Lets." The sunlight overhead reflected off their visors as they rushed towards each other, weapons held at the ready. The blades clashed together, sending shockwaves of reverberation through the arms of each fighter. J.B. gritted his teeth as he tried to overpower his opponent's dagger, but could do nothing more than keep the stalemate. Green Ranger grunted slightly.

"Not bad. You're as strong as I remember." Putting more strength into his right arm, he slowly began to turn J.B.'s blade to the side, until it was perpendicular to their bodies. Drawing the blade blaster from its holster on his left hip, he brought it up and slashed downwards, aiming for the front of J.B.'s suit, smirking inside his helmet. J.B. saw the glimmer of red against the powder blue tinge of the sky, and withdrew his left hand from the hilt of his sword, bringing it up swiftly to catch Green Ranger's fist in mid-strike.

"As strong as you remember? What the hell are you talking about?" With a surge of strength, J.B. shoved Green Ranger backward, and performed a back flip, his feet connecting with both of his opponent's hands, sending each weapon, blade blaster and dagger, flying in opposite directions. Green Ranger regained his balance swiftly, and leapt into the air to his right, catching the dagger smoothly in his hand. In mid-flight, he planted his boots firmly on the trunk of a tree directly in his path, and pushed off strongly, drastically altering his trajectory and launching him in the other direction like an arrow shot from a bow. His position intersected with the blade blaster's as it began it's arc downward, and he snatched it out of the air, performing a somersault for show and landing lightly in a crouch.

"You'll find out soon enough. You can trust me on that." He sheathed the dagger as he rose to his feet, and systemically swung the head of the blade blaster around, converting it from blade to blaster mode. J.B., following suit, sheathed his sword and drew his blaster. They both fired at the same time, striking the other in the chest, however J.B. was knocked back a few steps from the impact, while the Dragon Shield took the brunt of the force for Green Ranger, leaving him completely unscathed. The faint whirring of a camera shutter drew the attention of both combatants. They both turned to see a full field reporting crew (reporter, camera and sound) recording the action from a hilltop some distance away, and what appeared to be a paparazzi photographer snapping pictures like there was no tomorrow.

"Well, it looks like we have an audience," Green Ranger said, gesturing vaguely at the crew. "So don't die on me too quickly, sweetheart. I want to make sure I give them a good show." A ball of green energy appeared in his palm. "Before I kill them." A low growl escaped J.B.'s throat.

"They have nothing to do with this! This is between you and me." The ball of energy receded and disappeared as Green Ranger closed his fist.

"I'm sorry. You're right." He chuckled slightly. "If it makes you feel any better, I won't kill them until after I've killed you."

"You heartless bastard," J.B. cursed, his sword in his right hand once more. "I won't let you do it." He rotated the sword, passing it to his left hand, and brought his right hand to the base of the hilt. "Laser Lance command!" He brought his hand away from the hilt, and a second blade sprung free from its housing with a _snikt_. He held the dual-bladed weapon in front of him in his right hand, pressing the small activation mechanism on the handgrip. The two blades became electrified, surrounded by shimmering blue energy, and began humming softly. _Darth Maul, eat your heart out_, he thought amusingly, momentarily forgetting the seriousness of the situation. It was a short lapse, though, and he quickly prepared to engage Green Ranger once more, taking a deep breath within his helmet. The fight was far from over.

- PRG -

"Hey, is there a TV lying around here anywhere?" Rocky asked suddenly, taking all of us by surprise. We looked at him quizzically, and he smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't think now's the time to be watching cartoons, Rocko," Adam replied, chuckling.

"You've got me all wrong," Rocky said. "If someone's morphed with the Dragonzord coin, then there's a chance that someone in the media has seen whoever it is." Jason scratched his jaw line thoughtfully.

"You know, he's right. Remember in the old days? The media used to swarm us after nearly every battle." I smiled slightly and nodded.

"Good thinking buddy. Let's spread out and look around for one." It took a couple minutes of searching, but I managed to find an old portable TV stowed away in of the knee-high cabinets on the other side of the room. I plugged the power cable into a wall outlet, and screwed on the signal cable proffered by Jason. I switched it on, and we were greeted to a pressing news story as we crowded around the screen.

"…I'm Andrew Schmidt. Once again, our top story, a disturbance has been reported in West Union Park. For the full report, here's our field correspondent, Marcia Adams. Marcia?" The image changed, and a conservatively dressed Caucasian woman with a microphone in her hand began to speak.

"Thank you, Andrew. As you can see behind me, the two super powered fighters are engaged in a vicious battle, and have been since we arrived on the scene." The camera zoomed in, and we were able to make out the two fighters fairly clearly. I straightened as I recognized the aggressor. There was no mistake about it. It was the Green Ranger. I quickly reached over and shut off the TV.

"I've seen enough. We've got to get down there."

"How do you expect us to get there quickly enough, Tommy?" Kimberly asked, crossing her arms across her chest. I withdrew my communicator from my pocket.

"With these. You…brought them, right guys?" The others exchanged glances, and Rocky smiled sheepishly.

"I guess we forgot. You never told us to bring them." I scoffed, chuckling quietly. I clipped the communicator to my left wrist.

"Fair enough. You guys take the cars and my jeep and get to the park as quickly as you can. With any luck, Hayley should meet you there with the dagger." Kat took a step forward.

"What about you?" I clenched my fist, feeling the power of the Zeo Crystal surging through my body.

"I'm going to get my property back." I brought my hands in front of me, touching the control on the communicator, and disappeared in a bright streak of red light.

- PRG -

J.B.'s breaths were coming in short, heaving gasps. The fight was going badly. Whenever he tried to go on the offensive, Green Ranger was able to anticipate his tactics, and counter-attack too quickly for him to defend against. Green Ranger was advancing on him now, dagger and blade blaster drawn, the blades of both surrounded in a green aura, allowing them to come in contact with J.B.'s laser lance without being damaged. In a flash, he was being attacked, his opponent using both weapons to try and inflict damage. Using his laser lance, he once again undertook the arduous task of trying to keep Green Ranger at bay without taking damage. This time, however, that was not to be. As he brought the lance up to parry a slash from the blade blaster, the dagger crashed through the handgrip of the lance, severing it cleanly in two.

The humming died down instantly, and the blue aura faded, leaving J.B. with two single blades. He heard his opponent chuckle in amusement.

"What's so funny?" he growled, as he leapt forward to attack anew. Green Ranger countered each attack easily.

"You were always the calm one in battle. It's kind of pathetic seeing you losing so badly." As he spoke the words, Green Ranger handily shattered both of J.B.'s swords with dual slashes of his dagger. Throwing away the now-useless blades, which were nothing but jagged shards of metal, J.B. tried to attack Green Ranger head-on, with no weapons but his hands, but it proved futile. Green Ranger viciously pressed his attack, landing multiple slashes with both weapons, each strike drawing a shower of sparks from J.B.'s armor.

_I'm losing power!_ J.B.'s mind screamed. _I'm sorry, Professor. I've let you down._ Green Ranger, perhaps sensing his opponent's realization of defeat, brought both weapons across J.B.'s helmet. The sound of shattering glass echoed loudly as J.B. was thrown backward from the impact, landing heavily on his stomach. His movements were coming slower, far too slow for him to hope to beat Green Ranger. When he pushed himself to his feet, he noticed that he was seeing things differently. His visor had been completely shattered, with jagged shards of the highly tinted glass still remaining in their housing. A well-placed boot to the stomach sent J.B. careening backward, impacting heavily against a tree. Once again he was lying flat against his stomach, but this time was different. He couldn't move. At all. He felt a burning sensation on the right side of his face, but he had no way to know what it was. Green Ranger sheathed his blade blaster and moved to stand over J.B.'s fallen form, laughing maniacally. He raised the dagger to his mouthpiece, and a battle melody came from the hilt. The blade began to glow brighter as the melody increased in intensity. When the song reached a fever pitch, and it seemed like the blade couldn't glow any brighter, he pointed it at J.B.'s back.

A stream of green lightning leapt from the blade of the dagger to connect with J.B.'s armor. J.B. let out a bloodcurdling scream as the lightning darted across his armor. He had never felt this much pain, even during the final battle with Grimlord. If he could move, he would have been writhing on the ground like worm skewered on a barbed fishing hook. He felt a strange sensation begin to build within him, and suddenly, without warning, his armor was gone. He was himself again. He felt Green Ranger's boot under him, and he was rolled over onto his back.

Green Ranger crouched over J.B., reached down and tore the virtualizer from his throat. He held it in his hand, glancing down at the emerald, watching it reflect the sunlight overhead. His teeth clenched tightly as the accursed device lying in his hand brought back painful memories. He closed his fist, crushing the virtualizer in his palm. He tossed away what remained, and grabbed J.B. by the front of his shirt, dragging him to his feet.

"Now you don't have anything left to protect you, J.B.," he said, spinning his dagger on his palm. J.B.'s eyes opened partway, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Who are you?" Green Ranger sneered inside his helmet.

"You don't recognize my voice? Old buddy?" He sheathed his dagger on his hip, and, using the hand that wasn't holding J.B. upright, unclasped the clip on the left side of his helmet, then the clip on the right side. He removed the helmet, and J.B.'s breath caught in his throat. The face of Ryan Steele was staring back at him, his mouth curled in a sneer.

- PRG -

I emerged from the teleportation beam feeling invigorated. I jogged behind a tree, and peered around it, in an attempt to keep my location a secret from whoever may be watching. I was overlooking the battlefield, and could see Green Ranger, sans helmet, preparing to impale a nearly unconscious black man with the duplicate Dragon Dagger. I didn't hesitate. I leapt from the top of the hill, throwing my hands out to either side of me. I rotated each wrist, and my zeonizers appeared, as quickly as they always had in the past. I performed a somersault and brought my zeonizers together, and uttered the magic words.

"It's morphin' time! Zeo Ranger V, Red!" The familiar feeling of my senses heightening as red light engulfed my person, becoming the reinforced body suit of Zeo Ranger V. The helmet was last to materialize, bringing with it the brief moment when I could hardly see a thing as the star-shaped visor set itself in place, before the built-in visual processing systems kicked in, giving me back the full range of peripheral vision..

My left boot had barely made contact with the grass before I launched myself back into the air towards the two a few metres away.

"Say goodnight, J.B.," Green Ranger said, as he raised the Dragon Dagger to deliver a final blow.

"Zeo V Power Kick!" I exclaimed, as I drove my boot into Dragon Ranger's side. He was launched into the air as I landed lightly on my feet, standing protectively over the prone man. "Are you alright?" I asked, calling out behind me. The man didn't answer me, but I didn't think much of it. _He's probably just unconscious,_ I thought to myself. I saw Green Ranger corkscrew in the air and land nimbly on his feet. He glared hatefully at me, his blue eyes flashing anger.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked, practically spitting the words. I dropped into a fighting stance.

"I'm the real owner of that power coin, asshole." He put his helmet back on, clipping it in place.

"I don't have time for this. I'll deal with you later. As for him," he said, gesturing at the unconscious man. "Well, he's as good as dead anyway." He brought a hand to his belt, and teleported away in a flash of green light. I cursed loudly as I powered down. I turned and knelt beside the man's body. He was in pretty bad shape. I didn't have any medical knowledge whatsoever, but I could tell, just by looking at him and referring to my own past injuries, that he a broken arm, some cracked ribs, and possibly some internal injuries. I sighed, shaking my head. I placed my left hand on his chest, feeling it rise and fall unevenly, and touched the control on my communicator, teleporting the both of us to the parking lot in streaks of red and white light, respectively, where the others were just pulling up.


	8. Chapter VIII

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: It seems like some of you are wondering how the hell Ryan Steele became the Green Ranger, and why V.R. Trooper characters suddenly appeared in a Power Rangers fic. I assure you, there is a method to my supposed madness, and if you stick around long enough, you'll find out. Though, I have to warn you guys, you may not see any zord fights for a while, but I promise that you will see them eventually. I apologize for the length. I know it's a little shorter than what you've come to expect, but I wanted to get this chapter out there. I'm still not completely satisfied with the explanation regarding the VR powers, but I figure that can be touched up in rewrites. But, whatever, enough of that. On with the story!

**Chapter VIII**

Conner leaned forward in his seat, peering intently at Hayley's car as it pulled into the entrance of the parking lot located on the outskirts of West Union Park. He slowed the car, pulling over at the curb when they were just within sight of the lot. Kira gave him a backhanded slap to the shoulder.

"Why did you stop?" she asked, obviously a little confused. Conner turned off the engine and pulled the keys out of the ignition.

"I stopped because Doctor O told us to stay in Reefside. Do you really want him to know that we followed Hayley here? Wherever here is."

"We're in Angel Grove, approximate population of four-hundred thousand. Known internationally as the world's leading 'monster' hotspot in the early to mid nineties, and focal point of Astronema's invasion of the Earth in late spring of 1998," Ethan interjected. The two other teens turned to stare at him.

"Dude, how do you know this stuff?" Conner asked skeptically.

"Haven't you guys ever heard of the Internet?" Ethan asked. Conner smirked and shook his head.

"Whatever. It looks like Hayley's stopped." The teens opened the car doors and were halfway out when a trio of vehicles and a motorcycle all moved to leave the parking lot at the same time. They instantly recognized Hayley's car and Tommy's jeep, but had no idea who the other vehicle and the motorcycle belonged to. Kira put her hand on the hood of the car.

"Looks like you spoke too soon," she said, appearing to be mildly amused. Conner groaned audibly and sat down again, closing the door with a quick jerk of his arm.

"And here I thought I'd get a chance to stretch my legs," he muttered as he replaced the key in the ignition and started the engine. Ethan scoffed.

"_You_ wanted to stretch your legs? I'm the one who's stuck in this trash compactor that you call a backseat."

"Hey, don't blame me, alright? It's not my fault my dad has bad taste when it comes to cars." Kira crossed her arms and chuckled inwardly. It was going to be a long drive.

- PRG -

The being in yellow armor that was crouched idly atop the roof of the newly redesigned Angel Grove Gym and Juice Bar scanned the skyline slowly, with machine-like patience. Although a scant handful of life forms actually knew what gender the being beneath the armor was it was widely accepted that the being was most probably a male, due to his actions and the way he carried himself. He was known by many names in the universe, yet the name he had come to use most frequently was Demon Hunter. It seemed strangely fitting to him, considering his line of work. He was a mercenary by trade, one of great reputation, in fact. His current mission, however, had not been undertaken due to any bounty to be collected. It was personal, a promise made to a friend; one that he was honour-bound to fulfill. His heads-up display flickered to life, informing him of three distinct energy signatures coming from a location approximately ten kilometres to the northeast. He straightened, and leapt into the air, landing lightly on the roof of a small strip mall. He continued leaping from rooftop to rooftop, getting ever closer to the location of the energy signatures. It wasn't as quick as teleporting by any means, but it served his purpose. It allowed him to travel unseen through the city, high above the unsuspecting citizens who went about their daily lives, oblivious to his movements.

He moved with great haste, his feet scarcely touching down on the sun-heated tar before launching him into the air once more. Before long he had reached the grassy hill that overlooked West Union Park. He crossed his arms across his chest, taking stock of the situation laid out before him. Only two of the three energy signatures he had detected earlier were still within range of his tracking systems, and one of them was fading quickly. The third signature was apparently not in the immediate vicinity. He leapt forward, using the trunks of the trees lining the park to propel him towards the fading energy signature. The grass flattened underfoot when he finally landed, gazing grimly at the sight before him. The stiff, cold body of a middle-aged black man lay on its side at the base of a large statue in a pool of dried blood.

Demon Hunter crouched down before the body, and reached out with his right hand, turning the body's head towards him. Its face was frozen in a look of what could only be described as a combination of pain and shock. Its mouth remained open, frozen from rigor mortis. Its eyes, which surely had once held the spark of life, stared unseeing at the sky, the pupils glazed over in death. Through contact with the corpse, the internal scanners built-in to his suit allowed him to perform a simulated post-mortem. Complex algorithms processed all of the data that the scanners gathered from the body, and extrapolated the most logical cause and time of death. He didn't need the algorithm to tell him how the man had died. The gaping stab wound in his chest acted like a neon sign. According to the results being shown on his heads-up display, the man had died approximately one half of the planet's hour's previous, from blood loss and massive trauma to the internal organs.

Demon Hunter gently closed the man's eyes and laid the body back onto the grass, silently wishing him good fortune on his journey to the land of the dead. His head snaked to the left, as his visor picked up the source of the almost non-existent energy signature. He rose to his feet and swiftly ate up the distance between him and the small object, which glittered in the sunlight. As he picked the object up, he felt the last whisper-thin thread of power it contained slip away, disappearing into the ether. He examined the object thoughtfully. Though crushed, he was still able to come up with a relative extrapolation of what it looked like, and its function.

Such an object was a rare find in the universe. Most devices that gave humanoids the ability to transform into Power Rangers or similar warriors were tied into the Universal Morphing Grid, which was widely believed to have originated on Eltar. However, the object lying mangled in his palm was completely Earth-based, and was known as a virtualizer. In the first few months of 1992, the concept of virtual reality began to circulate within scientific communities the world over. The possibilities of this sort of technology seemed to be endless. Within a year a very basic virtual network was created, spanning the western coast of North America. As the network began to expand, the random fusion of data spawned primitive virtual life forms. By the spring of 1994, the network criss-crossed the globe, and a civilization had evolved in the virtual realm. It was militaristic in nature, and under the rule of a being known as Grimlord.

Grimlord was extremely territorial by nature, and would not rest until he controlled all that he surveyed. His need for power grew, and, upon discovery of the "real" world that ran parallel to his own, he sought to tear a hole in the veil that separated them. He succeeded, to a certain extent. He was only able to pass through the veil himself. Upon crossing over, he found his molecular structure inexplicably altered. He was now human, data no longer. Unable to physically pass through the veil again, he adopted the name Carl Ziktor, and began to amass resources in the real world, through his front company Ziktor Industries, in preparation of a large-scale invasion. Acquiring prototype VR projector technology, he maintained contact with his generals in the virtual realm. In time, the veil was torn enough to allow multiple life forms to pass through it. Human scientists, discovering the tear, constructed an outpost to prevent data leakage, known as the Battle Grid. The lead scientist on the project was Professor Horatio Hart. When the Battle Grid was nearing completion, Grimlord had enough resources to begin financing his invasion of the real world.

To combat Grimlord's invasion, Professor Hart created three virtualizers, allowing Ryan Steele, J.B. Reese and Kaitlin Star to become VR Troopers. Before making their way through the veil to the real world, Grimlord's forces had to pass through the Battle Grid. Unbeknownst to Hart, the location of the Battle Grid had one unforeseen side effect. Although it was located in a pocket dimension acting as a bridge between the real and virtual worlds, the Battle Grid's virtual network somehow managed to intersect with the Morphing Grid's power distribution web. In short, rather than the typical armor the Troopers were used to, the armor took on distinctly Ranger-esque qualities.

This type of power, due to its nature, was typically used on a planetary scale. This limitation, the fact that the powers must maintain contact with its power source, was a key reason why that type of power had been all but abandoned in the whole of the known universe.

He touched a control inset on the interior of his right forearm, and a small storage compartment opened on his right hip, underneath his sheathed broadsword. He placed the object inside, and closed the compartment with a _hiss_. He briefly took note of the general condition of the area, before turning, leaping forward in pursuit of the second energy signature, which was now moving away from him at a steady pace.

- PRG -

_The warrior you selected to inherit the Shield of Os-worim is quite impressive, Draeph. However, he appears to have an agenda of his own. Are you certain you can control him?_ Draeph stood nonchalantly against one of the pillars in the main chamber, casually sharpening his weapon.

"His reasons for accepting my offer are his own, master, but I assure you he will be obedient. For the time being, at least."

_Perhaps. Be watchful, my general. Although we have the initiative, Oliver is a cunning adversary. Do not take him lightly._ His master's voice faded as a green teleportation streak materialized in the chamber, revealing the form of Ryan Steele, now de-morphed and standing with his arms crossed before Draeph.

"Who the hell was that guy in red?" he asked, frustration dripping from his voice. "If he hadn't shown up I would have been able to kill my old 'friend', and given us one less problem to worry about!" Draeph, who had been pondering his master's words, turned to Ryan and answered his question.

"That was Tommy Oliver, Ryan. He's trying to stop us from achieving our goal."

"You had better not back out of our deal, Draeph. I have enough power to take you down now, and you need me a hell of a lot more than I need you," Ryan said, showing the morpher clipped to his belt buckle. Draeph chuckled slightly.

"You're quite the arrogant warrior, aren't you?" _And that arrogance will serve my purposes quite nicely_, he thought to himself. "You need not worry. I have no intention of 'backing out of our deal', as you put it. I am a warrior of honour, contrary to popular belief." Ryan scoffed.

"Whatever. I'll believe you when you give me reason to," he replied. He ran a hand through his hair. "So what's our next move?" Draeph tapped his breastplate thoughtfully.

"Oliver knows that we possess one piece of the armor, and almost certainly knows that we will be going to collect the rest." He met Ryan's gaze, smirking. "It would be a shame to disappoint him, wouldn't it?" Ryan began to chuckle as Nirril, his chest bandaged under his breastplate, hobbled into the chamber. Draeph clapped his hands together. "Ah, Nirril, I see that you have recovered from our little discussion. I trust you have learned your lesson." Nirril was slow to answer.

"I have, Draeph. I will not fail you again," he replied, wincing as he bowed before his employer. Draeph nodded

"Very well. I'm leaving you in command of my master's forces on this planet while Ryan and myself go in search of the remaining pieces of the armor. If you fail me again – and believe me, I will know – a blade in your gullet will be the least of your problems. Am I understood?" he asked, his tone cold and business-like. Nirril gulped and nodded once, quickly.

"Perfectly," he said, bowing again so he wouldn't have to meet Draeph's gaze. Draeph turned to Ryan and gestured for him to follow as he began to walk out of the chamber.

"Come, Ryan, I believe it's time for us to leave. My ship has been prepared for departure in Launch Bay 2." Ryan nodded and began to follow, but stopped as he stood beside Nirril. He met the mercenary's faltering gaze, appraising him smugly. He bent forward quickly, as if to lunge at Nirril, and laughed derisively as Nirril cowered in fear. His laughter echoed off of the walls as he followed Draeph, who had watched the altercation in stark amusement, out of the chamber. Nirril growled under his breath as he straightened, trying to regain some small fraction of his shattered dignity.

_Laugh at me while you can, human. I will find a way to wreak my vengeance._ He stalked out of the chamber and made his way to the training chamber, intent on gathering some cannon fodder and teleporting to the city to vent his frustrations upon one Thomas Oliver.

- PRG -

I stared vacantly out the side of my jeep, watching the people, the cars, the trees. The cool breeze whispered sweet promises of life in my ear as we drove to Queen of Angels hospital, located in downtown Angel Grove. I envied them sometimes, living out their lives in a shell of normalcy, completely oblivious to what threatened their existence every single day. I envied them for the lives that they had that I could never have.

I was sitting in the rear cab, keeping an eye on the unconscious man lying beside me, with Adam and Tanya seated in the front. Kimberly was riding with Jason on his motorcycle, and the others traveled in Rocky's SUV, with Hayley trailing slightly in her car. I had retrieved the Dragon Dagger from Hayley before we took off for the hospital, and now both the Dagger and Saba lay in my lap, within easy reach of my hands.

"Are you alright, Tommy? You seem troubled." My ears perked up as Saba addressed me, and I glanced down at the enchanted blade.

"I don't know, Saba. Things seem to be spiraling out of control."

"In what respect?"

"This whole situation with the armor. Nirril was after me at the hospital, and he almost killed Kimberly to get to me. If that had happened…" Saba met my gaze, his eyes full of understanding.

"You still care for her." It was more of a statement than a question. I nodded.

"That isn't the issue. I've always cared for her; for her and the others."

"Do I perceive that the feelings run…deeper than that?" I sighed.

"I'll be damned if I know. A part of me still loves her, but I moved on a long time ago. I thought I had gotten over my feelings for her, but when she came into my hospital room…"

"You are uncertain of how you feel." I chuckled lightly.

"You've always had an annoying habit of finishing my sentences, Saba." Saba smiled, baring his bright white teeth.

"It's my job to anticipate what you're thinking, Tommy. That is typically what partners do." I smiled and shifted my gaze to the unconscious form beside me. His breathing was still shallow, but it had at least remained steady. I was about to say more to Saba when my cell phone rang. I took it out of my pocket, looked at the call display, and answered it.

"What is it, Hayley?" I asked. I heard the rumble of the engine of her car in the background.

"My onboard computer has been interfacing with the computer network here in Angel Grove and communications satellites in orbit. I've intercepted communications between the International Space Station and N.A.S.A.D.A. Mission Control. They've detected trace amounts of atomized aluminum, ammonium perchlorate, iron oxide powder, epoxy resin and polybutadiene acrylic acid acrylonite in the atmosphere. These elements are the primary components of rocket fuel. From all of the evidence, it seems that a shuttle has been launched from a launch facility somewhere in the northern hemisphere." I sighed softly. It was obvious what had happened. Draeph had left in search of the other pieces of the Armor of Os-worim.

"Thanks for the heads up, Hayley," I replied. "I've got to make a call."

"All right, Tommy," she said, hanging up on her end. I quickly hung up, and searched through my digital phone book for a number I hadn't thought of calling in two years. Unfortunately, I had forgotten what folder I stored it in, and had to go searching through each one in turn.

"Uh, Tommy?" I heard Adam's voice calling me from the front seat, but I ignored it, intent on finding the number as quickly as possible.

"Tommy?" Now it was Tanya's voice calling me, her tone slightly more insistent than Adam's had been.

"In a minute," I muttered, moving the digital cursor two spaces down to highlight the number I needed.

"Tommy!" Their combined shout was too insistent to ignore, so I stood up quickly in the cab, hanging Saba and the Dragon Dagger on my hips, and turned to face them.

"What is it?" I asked, looking at the road in front of us. My eyes widened as I saw us coming quickly upon the forms of Nirril and a few dozen virebots. My gaze snaked downward, and I saw Adam's foot shoot out to slam on the brake pedal. I groaned inwardly, realizing my folly. _This is going to hurt_.

As soon as Adam's foot slammed down upon the pedal, the sudden change in gravity caused me to lose my balance, and sent me careening forward, unable to prevent it. The wind was knocked out of my lungs as the cold steel of the overhead T-Bar rammed into my chest. I found myself lifted off my feet, hurtling backward at an alarming speed. My cell phone flew from my hand as I cleared the edge of the cab, and sailed a few metres behind the jeep, landing heavily on my back. My body convulsed when I hit the pavement, my back arching as the muscles tensed. Their rigidity made the tendons seem like great strands of folded steel.

I could barely make out the sound of my cell phone hitting the ground and smashing into pieces as my left arm flew back reflexively, the back of my hand pressing against the small of my back through my shirt. I faintly heard the sound of screeching tires, but it seemed to be coming from some distance away, possibly due to the disorientation I was feeling from the sudden impact with both the T-Bar and the pavement I was now lying on.

"Tommy!" I heard Kimberly cry out, her eyes wide with worry. I pushed myself slowly to my feet, holding my arm up to stop any of them from coming close to me. If my hunch was correct, Nirril was here for me, and would leave the others alone if I stayed. I looked in the direction where I heard my cell phone land. Just as I had thought, it had split into three pieces, and was utterly unusable. _Shit_, I thought to myself. _Now how am I supposed to get a hold of him? _I moved as quickly as I could, walking past the vehicles in the road to stand before Nirril.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here, asshole?" I asked, feeling my fists clench of their own accord. Nirril smirked sadistically.

"Don't you remember our last encounter? I told you we'd finish another time. _This_ is that time."

"Alright. You want to finish this now, that's fine with me but let the others leave. They have nothing to do with this." Nirril crossed his arms across his chest.

"That's fine with me. You're the one I'm supposed to kill, not them. With you out of the picture, these fools have no way of knowing where the armor is, and without that knowledge they won't be able to stop Draeph from recovering it." Nirril looked back and nodded to the virebots, who scattered to either side of the street. Nirril also stepped aside, giving the vehicles a path through. I heard the sound of footfalls coming towards me, and I turned to see Jason coming forward. Kimberly was standing uncertainly at Jason's motorcycle.

"Jase, I need you to get the others out of here," I said softly, meeting his gaze. Jason shook his head.

"There's no way I'm letting you stay and fight them on your own, bro," he replied. "Adam can get the others to the hospital." There was no point in arguing with him. Jason had slipped back into 'leader' mode, and it felt just like old times again. He extended his hand to me, and I grasped it firmly. I turned to look at Kimberly.

"Kim, I need you to ride in my jeep and keep an eye on our unconscious friend. Make sure he doesn't get any worse, alright?" Kimberly bit her lower lip, looked at me once and nodded. She moved as quickly as her heels would allow, and climbed into the back of the jeep. The vehicles moved, one after another, passing through the gap quickly and leaving Jason and myself to face Nirril and his virebots. I turned to Jason and nodded. I drew Saba and the Dragon Dagger from their sheaths, preparing for battle. Jason did likewise, drawing the Power Sword from the baldric that was slung across his chest and back. The blades of our weapons glinted in the sunlight as the virebots came forward to begin the assault. It was almost like business as usual. _Almost_.

- PRG -

Demon Hunter came to rest on the roof of a small coffee shop, overlooking the very peculiar scene that was laid out before him. Two human males stood alone before a throng of opponents. He looked with disgust at the leader of the throng. _Nirril_. Even the thought of the name brought a bad taste to his mouth. He was a mercenary with no code of honour, using the most underhanded of tactics to secure bounties. Their paths had crossed once before, on a jungle world located on the Outer Rim. The encounter had left Demon Hunter stranded for days, as Nirril had somehow managed to sabotage Demon Hunter's craft. Demon Hunter had found Nirril to be an above average mercenary, to be sure, but didn't approve of his methods. He had lived his life according to a sacred code of honour that had been driven into his psyche as a child under the tutelage of the swordmaster Katgar. Even now he could hear the gruff man's words reverberating in his mind.

_Always remember, apprentice. The skillful warrior does not strike twice when once is sufficient._

His hands moved idly towards his weapons as he watched the two humans engage the enemies. He was more than a little surprised at the efficiency in which they dispatched the virebots. Although it was slow going, they seemed to be making progress, and the numbers were slowly but surely dwindling. He moved his gaze back to Nirril, whose expression was becoming increasingly frenzied as the battle raged. Nirril's right hand had moved involuntarily to his chest while he drew his sword with his left.

Demon Hunter leapt silently from the rooftop, landing in a shadowy alleyway adjacent to the fighting, out of sight. He drew his sidearm, and aimed for Nirril's head. This was his opportunity to end the threat permanently. With Nirril out of the way, he had no doubt that the humans would be able to finish of the virebots in short order. He lined up the shot. Took his time; taking into account the wind, slight differences in elevation, anything that might affect the accuracy of the shot. He slowed his breathing, the only sound he could hear being the quiet thump of his heart in his chest. His finger tightened on the trigger. One quick movement, and it would be all over…

- PRG -

To those of you television geeks out there, Queen of Angels is the name of the hospital that appeared in the pilot episode of the NBC series "The Pretender", starring Michael T. Weiss. Also, in case you didn't realize it, Demon Hunter comes from the GoGoV (Sentai series that Lightspeed Rescue was based off of) movie. Katgar's lesson for Demon Hunter is paraphrased from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War". As always, comments and suggestions are encouraged. 'Till next time.


	9. Chapter IX

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know, I know. It takes me far too long to get these chapters out to you good people. All I can say is that I'm trying my best.

**Chapter IX**

The fight was going well. As well as could be expected, anyway. Even though we were severely outnumbered, Jason and I seemed to be faring well. Even with the odds such as they were, with reinforcements flooding in from who knew where, we were making progress. The number of virebots was slowly beginning to dwindle. Very slowly. Our meager progress was coming at a price, though. We were getting tired. I knew it, and I was fairly certain that Jason knew it too. With each blow I struck, I felt my muscles spasm, but their cries of agony fell on deaf ears. I couldn't stop fighting. To stop meant to die, and I was growing rather fond of my life at present. So I fought on, continuing to press the attack with all of the zeal I could muster.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bright glow of sunlight glinting off of something metallic. It wasn't Jason's blade; Jason was on the opposite side of me, in a crowd of virebots, deflecting oncoming attacks with his sword. This was something, or someone, else. Someone who had managed to get this close to the battlefield unbeknownst to any those present. I spun, slashing furiously with both Saba and the Dragon Dagger; their blades causing a shower of sparks with each passing strike as I wielded them with deadly precision. The virebots moved back slightly, keeping their distance from my weapons and giving me a chance to catch my breath a little.

The slight reprieve allowed me to steal a glance in the direction of the newcomer. The shadows of the alleyway wrapped their cloak of darkness around the newcomer's form, to the point where I could make out a scant few physical details: a glossy black visor, much akin to the visors found in a ranger helmet; the glitter of emerald in the small, sharp streaks of light that sliced through the cloak to shine upon a brightly-coloured breastplate; the metallic object which had first drawn my attention to the newcomer, the cast-iron barrel of a shotgun-type weapon, moving slowly through the air to line up Nirril in its crosshairs.

I dove forward, corkscrewing through the air, my arms a blur of motion as they cut down the virebots to either side of me. I tilted forward slightly, my knuckles briefly grazing the pavement as I used my forward momentum to cartwheel to a standing, guarded stance. _If that guy kills Nirril we'll have no idea what piece of the armor Draeph and the Green Ranger are going after first. _My fist tightened around Saba's hilt. _Besides, if anyone is going to kill Nirril, it's going to be me. _I raised my arm so that I could lock eyes with the enchanted blade in my hand, continuing to deal damage with my dagger in the meantime.

"Saba, I need you to keep that guy in the alley busy. Whatever you do, keep him from killing Nirril," I said, gesturing with his bladed end to the form in the shadows. As soon as he visibly acknowledged my order, I drew my arm back and launched him towards the alley, cartwheeling backward as soon as the hilt left my fingertips. He flew straight and true, as if he had been nocked and launched from a longbow. As soon as he was close enough, he took control of his own momentum, spiraling around the figure in a wide arc, letting loose intermittent blasts of energy from his eyes. Satisfied that Saba would be able to do his job, I returned my attention to the horde of virebots, wondering vainly if we had gotten in over our heads as more and more of the foot soldiers began to swarm the scene.

- PRG -

The sound of tires screeching echoed in the afternoon air as Conner slammed on the brakes, sending Kira and Ethan careening headlong into the glove compartment and the back of the front seat, respectively. The two fell backward heavily, massaging their heads.

"Could someone please tell me what just happened?" Ethan asked, his fingers gently rubbing the growing red mark on his forehead. Conner unbuckled his seatbelt and pointed through the windshield.

"That's what happened." The three teens looked to see two men fighting against an army of black-clad foot soldiers. They quickly got out of the car and began to creep closer to the action, taking shelter behind a broken slab of concrete a few metres from the battle. A look of wonderment swept across their collective gazes as they watched the two men fight. The blades they wielded were a blur of motion, taking down opponent after opponent. Whenever one of them was surrounded, the other rushed in, clearing a path for his comrade to evade the assault and continue to press his attack. They were both clad in red, one slightly taller than the other; Conner's head tilted slightly to the side as he stared intently at one of them.

"Guys, is that who I think it is?" he asked, a sense of surprise evident in his voice. Ethan turned to look at him.

"Who?" Conner pointed at the man in question, and the other two looked in the direction he was pointing in. Kira's eyes widened.

"It can't be," she said. Ethan laughed aloud.

"It is. It's Doctor O!" he replied.

"Then who's the other guy?" Kira asked. Conner scoffed.

"I don't know, but it looks like they need our help," he said matter-of-factly. "You guys ready?" The others nodded in unison and took a step back, preparing for the morphing sequence, when Ethan stopped them.

"Wait a minute. What are they doing?" They proceeded to watch something they hadn't yet seen in their short careers as rangers. The two former rangers were fighting back to back, the soldiers having over-powered them. Tommy parried an attack, but was brought to one knee by a swift kick to the abdomen. The other man swung his sword in a wide arc, forcing their assailants to retreat a few steps as he tended to Tommy.

"This doesn't look good, bro," the shorter man said. Tommy chuckled painfully.

"How long did it take you to figure that one out, Jase?" The two men laughed aloud as the soldiers began to close in again. "I think it's time we took things up a notch." Jason smirked and nodded in agreement. They straightened and did something that surprised the Dino teens…they sheathed their weapons. Conner seemed about ready to jump out and enter the fray.

"What are they doing? They're defenseless now!" he exclaimed. Kira dug her nails into his wrist and forced him back behind the slab.

"Just wait. They have to have a good reason for doing that," she said, watching Conner rub his now-tender wrist.

"Yeah," Ethan chimed in. "It would be obvious to anyone that fighting without their weapons would be a sure path to failure. Any gamer knows that. They've got a plan." The three watched, their curiosity building as Jason reached into his back pocket and Tommy clenched his right fist, slowly rubbing his wrist with his other hand. Their eyes met, and they nodded in unison. No words were needed. They had it down to a science. Tommy flicked his wrists, and two small objects materialized in bright flashes of red light; Jason withdrew his own object from his back pocket and held it securely in his left hand, holding his right hand perpendicularly above it. The battle cry was yelled in unison.

"It's morphin' time!" Jason brought the object in front of him, holding it steady, while Tommy brought his wrists together, his left and right hands perpendicular.

"Tyrannosaurus!"

"Zeo Ranger V, Red!"

A blinding flash of red light emanated from the two, forcing the teens to turn away. When their eyes had sufficiently recovered, the two men were no longer standing there. In their place were two power rangers. Two _red_ power rangers, to be more specific. Conner's jaw dropped in awe as he saw their teacher and cumulative mentor become an armor-clad warrior, just like they were. Kira chuckled and, using her left hand, pushed up underneath Conner's jaw to close his mouth.

"You may want to be careful with that, Conner. We wouldn't want our fearless leader to trip over himself." Ethan burst out laughing, but Conner didn't notice. He was too busy staring at the two rangers standing a few metres from him. Ethan cleared his throat and got up.

"I think we can morph now, guys." All signs of light-heartedness faded as a more serious demeanor overcame the teens. Conner and Kira stood up, lining themselves up beside Ethan. They each brought their left hands in front of them, rotating them to force their morphers to materialize from the confines of their bracelets. They went through the motions in unison, as they had always done.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up!"

- PRG -

"Just like old times," Jason said, chuckling. I got the oddest sense of deja vu when I heard him say that, bringing back memories of when he had assumed the Gold power from Trey all those years ago. The power of the morph managed to stave off the fatigue we were feeling temporarily, but I knew that it wouldn't last very long. We had to get the job done. Fast.

"Time to go to work, bro," I said, flashing Jason a thumbs up. Jason did likewise, and unsheathed his sword once more. Something struck me as odd as the adrenaline from morphing died down somewhat, though. While the Power Daggers and Power Lance, which I had been carrying for Billy and Aisha, had disappeared when I morphed, presumably to be stored within my zeonizers, the Dragon Dagger now hung at my hip, in a sheath that was more Zeo-like than the old one. _Just one more thing to think about later, I guess._ "Zeo V Power Sword!" My signature Zeo weapon materialized instantly in my waiting hands, just in time to deflect an oncoming virebot's blade. Now that we were morphed, the fight became a little easier. The fatigue that we had been feeling earlier was replaced with a geyser of adrenaline, but the virebots still greatly outnumbered us. As I fought, my limbs and blade becoming a red blur even to my eyes, I thought I heard a familiar voice a few metres away. It wasn't until I saw three streaks of colour out of the corner of my eye that I realized that I hadn't imagined what I heard. It was the kids. I groaned inwardly.

"I thought I told you three to go back to Reefside!" I yelled, taking out three virebots with a horizontal slash of my sword. Conner, his Thundermax Saber already drawn, chuckled aloud.

"Come on, Doctor O. You _know_ you're glad to see us." The teens entered the fray, taking some of the pressure off of Jason and me. Although I was a little bit perturbed at them disobeying my order, I was glad to see them. The problem was, now that they were here, I was certain that they wouldn't leave until I filled them in on the situation, which was something I didn't want them to know about. They had enough on their plates with juggling school, extra-curriculars and ranger duties. The teens were holding their own pretty well, considering the limited amount of martial arts training they had. I was quite impressed.

As we all continued to fight, an idea popped into my head. I performed a backflip, soaring high above the virebots to land on the outskirts of the battle, close to Jason. I impaled my sword into the street, sending concrete chips careening from the blade, and held out my hands, concentrating hard. Two pairs of objects appeared in my hands, under a cloak of bright white light. I locked eyes with Jason.

"You think they'd mind?" I asked.

"Under the circumstances, I doubt it," he replied, his voice light with amusement. I smirked as I thought of the irony of what I was about to do.

"Kira! Ethan!" I yelled, trying to get their attention. Their heads turned in my direction as they continued to fight. "Catch!" I threw the Daggers and Lance high into the air for them to retrieve and dashed back into the battle, retrieving my sword from its temporary resting place. As soon as the weapons touched Kira and Ethan's hands, they became enveloped in a bright flash of appropriately coloured light. When the dust settled, and the two teens' boots were rooted firmly on the ground once more, I could see that the weapons had changed ever so slightly. They were visually the same, except for one key difference. In place of the symbols of the Triceratops and Saber-toothed Tiger was the Dino Thunder symbol, inset in gold against the ranger-coloured hilts of the weapons. _Now isn't that something._

The time for talking was over. Even morphed, the fight couldn't go on for much longer. It was time to finish it. I stole a glance back at the alley. Even though Saba was a powerful weapon, he couldn't keep the stranger occupied forever. Even now the unknown figure's strikes came closer and closer to knocking the enchanted blade out of the air, allowing him to take his shot at Nirril.

Nirril was clearly growing impatient at the virebots for not finishing his quarry, for he drew his sword from its scabbard and began to walk slowly into the heat of the battle. I made a beeline for him, catching any virebots in my way with quick slashes from my blade. Nirril saw me coming for him, and grinned evilly. I was the one he wanted, and I was the one he was going to get. I ran until I was about a metre from him, planted both feet and leapt into the air, my sword raised high above me as my leap ate up the distance between us. Nirril brought his blade up in an attempt to slash at my exposed chest. My blade locked with his, and I performed a half twist, landing behind him, facing his back. With my free hand, I quickly drew the Dragon Dagger and thrust it into his shoulder before he had time to block. The blade sliced easily through his armor, severing skin, muscle fibre and tendon. Nirril screamed in pain as his other arm moved swiftly to hold the injured limb, his sword clattering loudly to the ground. I lashed out with my right leg, catching him behind his kneecaps, sending him to his knees. As dark-coloured blood began to seep from his wound, he was ranting in feverish tones.

"How! How could you beat me! No humanoid of any species can beat me!" he exclaimed, rage dripping from his voice. I sent a roundhouse kick crashing into the side of his head, laying him out. I glanced at the others. They were holding their own, but I could tell that Jason was tired, and the longer the fight went on, the more likely the teens were to make a mistake. I lowered my blade to his throat.

"Call off the virebots or you die." I didn't say it as a threat. It was a fact. A promise. I could see fear beginning to bubble to the surface in him. It was evident in his eyes. They say that the eyes are windows to the soul. Nothing reaffirmed that saying to me more than this moment. I could see into the core of his being…and he was scared. Though he didn't want to admit it, he knew he was beaten. And he didn't want to die.

"Virebots!" he exclaimed, his voice almost on the brink of faltering. "Stand down!" The robotic foot soldiers immediately halted their attacks, standing perfectly still and awaiting instructions. The others finally lowered their weapons, catching their breath. Conner scoffed, pushing the nearest virebot hard in the chest as he rested his staff against his body, causing it to fall backwards the way a department store mannequin might.

"What a bunch of pushovers," he said, in between gasps of air. I ignored the cocky remark, reached down and picked Nirril up by the throat, the way Draeph had done to me some hours before in the park.

"Where is he going?" I asked him, my tone completely business-like. "Which piece is he after?" Nirril tried to swallow past the growing lump in his throat, but my hand there made it impossible for him to do so, so all he could do was gag. I tossed him back onto the ground, looking at him with disgust.

"I'm surprised at Draeph; that he would trust my destruction to the likes of you. Frankly, I'm rather insulted." I knelt down, sheathing my sword and taking the Dagger in my left hand. "Any last words?" The blade drew ever nearer to his throat. He muttered something nearly inaudible, and I punched him in the gut, watching him spasm in pain. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"ONYX!" he cried out, in a yelp of agony. Nodding in satisfaction, I sheathed the Dagger, and picked him up, one hand under each of his armpits. He stood on unsteady legs as I brushed the dust off of his shoulder guards.

"You see? Was that so hard?" I asked lightly. The others had moved to stand behind me, watching uncertainly as I interrogated Nirril. Now that I had gotten the answer I needed, it was time to complete some unfinished business. Before anyone present could react, I reached forward with both hands and snapped Nirril's neck in one feral motion. His lifeless body fell to the ground in a heap as I let go of his head, demorphing in the process. I looked down at his corpse, and spat on it, the anger still dancing in my eyes. _That was for trying to kill Kimberly to get to me._

I turned to face the others, who demophed in flashes of appropriately coloured light. The teens looked dazed and confused, as if they couldn't grasp what had just happened. Conner tried to swallow the growing lump in his throat, failing miserably in the attempt; Kira licked her chapped lips, unsure of how to react to her school teacher mercilessly killing someone in front of her; Ethan merely stood there, silently trying to process everything. Jason stood grimly with his arms crossed in front of him, meeting my piercing gaze with one of his own. He was the only one who had ever seen that side of me. The side of me that was willing to kill anyone that stood in my way. It was a kind of fierce determination that bordered on obsession. I shivered visibly as the anger slowly left me, leaving me weak and fatigued. My gaze made its way back to the alley, where I saw Saba, seemingly discarded in a pile of cardboard boxes, and the mysterious figure nowhere to be found. I walked over to the enchanted blade, my fatigue keeping me from moving as quickly as I would have liked, and picked him up, brushing a few clumps of dust from the blade.

"You did well, old friend," I said, the corners of my mouth curling upward in a ghost of a smile.

"Were you able to retrieve the information you needed?" he asked. I nodded curtly, and turned his head so that he could see Nirril's corpse. "Ah. I take it that wasn't part of the interrogation." I opened my mouth to answer, but I couldn't find the words to reply. I replaced Saba in his sheath without saying a word and returned to where the others were standing idly.

"You never told us you were a ranger, Doctor O," Kira said softly, gently fingering the daggers in her hands. I sighed.

"It didn't seem like the right time to fill you all in on my past," I replied. "You three have only been rangers for a short time. I didn't want to give you any lofty expectations to live up to." Conner raised his hand tentatively.

"Uh, question. Why did they get cool new weapons and I didn't?" I chuckled softly.

"Those weapons were on loan for this battle only, Conner. Besides, do you really want to try and take the sword?" I asked, gesturing to Jason, who pulled the sword partway out of its scabbard, so that the blade could be clearly seen. Conner gulped and slowly lowered his hand, as if he were a scolded child. I scratched my jawline, feeling the stubble slightly raised against my fingertips, and turned to Jason. "I guess I'd may as well make with the introductions. "Jason, meet Conner McKnight, Kira Ford and Ethan James, the red, yellow and blue Dino Thunder rangers. Guys, this is Jason Lee Scott. The original red ranger." Polite handshakes were exchanged, and I subtly stepped away from the group as Conner began to fire off questions at Jason with abandon.

How much do I tell them? I can't just brush this off as something minor; they'll never buy that. And if I tell them too much, they'll want to stay and help, and leave Reefside completely defenseless. _Kira and Ethan took a step forward, weapons in-hand._

"Here, Doctor O," Ethan said, offering the lance to me. Kira did the same with the daggers. I nodded my thanks, and retrieved the weapons, noting that as soon as they changed hands the Dino Thunder symbol disappeared, returning to normal. I returned the weapons to their sheaths and crossed my arms, gazing intently at the teens.

"Now, which one of you is going to tell me why you aren't in Reefside?" I asked. Kira and Ethan's eyes met briefly, before turning their attention to Conner, who seemed to be oblivious to everything except for Jason's sword. A pair of hands shoved Conner him to the forefront, one each from the other two teens.

"Why don't _you_ tell him, fearless leader?" Ethan said, a hint of sarcasm evident in his voice. Kira chuckled under her breath as Conner was snapped out of his daze. He cleared his throat and began to talk.

"We were coming by your place to see you and make sure you were alright when we saw Hayley drive off in a rush. I knew that it must be something important, so I convinced the others to come with me to check it out." I groaned, massaging my forehead.

"Didn't you think there was a reason I told you three to stay?"

"Well, yeah. But—"

"With the three of you standing here, Reefside is defenseless to Mesogog. We may as well have posted a sign that says 'Power Rangers on Vacation. Feel free to invade!'"

"But—"

"But nothing! This was an important order, and you didn't follow it!" The teens said nothing, their gazes fixed on the ground. I sighed as Jason put a calming hand on my shoulder.

"Don't you think you're being a little hard on them, Tommy? I mean, they _did_ just save our asses out there." I crossed my arms across my chest. Maybe he was right. I had made bigger mistakes during my first few hours as a ranger than this, and they _did_ bail us out with the virebots. I looked at the teens and smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry, guys. I guess I just lost my head for a minute after dealing with Nirril. You—" I wasn't able to finish my sentence. A spasm of pain overtook me, taking me to my knees. _God, not now._ I screamed, my arms held tightly against my chest in a feeble attempt to ward off the pain that had crept up on me like an assassin in the night. My head began to throb, and my vision was slowly blurring together. I could barely feel Jason's hands gripping my shoulders, keeping me from collapsing right there in the street. I began shaking uncontrollably, my brain no longer being able to control the musculature in my body. The pain was building in agonizing crescendos, and I was sure that soon I'd be dead. I detected the faint coppery taste of blood on my tongue before going limp, consciousness slowly drifting away as a final thought went through my mind. _Aww man…_


	10. Chapter X

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: To all of my longtime readers, I sincerely apologize for the long gaps in between chapter updates lately. It's a long story, and one that I don't believe is appropriate to go into here. I had originally wanted to post this chapter a few days ago, on the 24th. But, it being my birthday, I was out of the house all day, and was unable to do so. On top of that, I got some more inspiration, and added to what I already had. I hope you all like it.

**Chapter X**

Demon Hunter appraised the situation laid out before him grimly. Nirril's body lay unmoving in the middle of the oddly deserted street, his eyes staring upward unseeing at the sky as a pool of murky blood began to flow outwards from beneath him. His mouth remained open, in the throes of a scream that could no longer be heard. A dagger at his belt lay halfway out of its sheath, apparently in some last ditch effort to kill his executioner, who lay prone and unconscious amongst the forms of the other four warriors, now without their armor.

Demon Hunter gazed at the face of Nirril's killer intently. Mere moments ago he had been fully aware, retrieving the enchanted sword from the alleyway where he had very nearly discovered Demon Hunter's presence. Now it was contorted in a look of agony. The man's life signs, while somewhat erratic, were still strong. For the moment, he wasn't in serious danger. There was something about the man… Something that Demon Hunter couldn't quite put his finger on. Moving swiftly, he took a running start and launched himself into the air, jumping the chasm of air in one leap to land nimbly on a rooftop on the other side, directly above where the warriors were located. He approached the edge of the rooftop silently, until he was close enough to make out the conversation clearly.

"What the hell just happened to him?"

"I don't know, but the same thing happened this morning in our classroom. Except he didn't fall unconscious."

"Was there anything different about this morning in relation to right now?"

"Not that I can remember. What about you guys?"

"We can't remember either."

"Alright. You guys keep thinking about it while you follow me to the hospital. Both me and Tommy need medical attention, and that's where the others are going to be heading anyway."

"Uh, alright, but could you be a little more specific than 'hospital'? We aren't exactly sure where anything is here."

"Queen of Angels hospital is a few blocks away. Just follow me and you won't get lost." The warriors all nodded, and dispersed. The second of the two men who had begun the fight before the three newcomers arrived picked up the unconscious man, and carried him to a motorcycle parked a little ways up the road.

Demon Hunter took a step back and accessed the town's information distribution web as he contemplated his next move. The hospital that was spoken of wasn't very far away from his current position. If Nirril had gone after these two men, they might be able to lead him to his primary target. And yet… _Perhaps it would be more prudent to continue the hunt alone. They may only serve to slow me down._ He returned his gaze to street level. The two vehicles carrying the warriors were gone. All that remained was Nirril's corpse and the remnants of a few dozen virebots, hissing and sparking in the sunlight.

- PRG -

The main chamber was blanketed in darkness as Zeltrax walked in, his footsteps echoing loudly in the open air. Mesogog had been less than understanding when informed of the failure of the bio-zords to destroy the city. He had been less so when informed that the Power Rangers had tamed the zords. Zeltrax winced in remembered pain. While he hadn't been harmed physically, the mental agony that his lord had inferred onto him had been excruciating. The warning had been well received. He came to a halt in the middle of the room.

"Lord Mesogog," he said, bowing his head slightly in reverence. Mesogog turned to his general.

"Zeltrax. I trust you have learned your lesson. Failure will not be tolerated," he said, his tongue giving his words a distinct serpentine timbre. Zeltrax nodded, twisting his head backward at the sound of footsteps behind him. His heart began to beat faster in his chest as he saw who it was. Elsa. His longing for her had been building gradually since she had begun her tenure with Mesogog. It was nothing of substance, true. Mere attraction. But that attraction was beginning to grow too strong to ignore.

"Lord Mesogog, I believe I have discovered something you will find most pleasing," she said, completely ignoring Zeltrax's presence in the room, as always. Mesogog tilted his head to the side, baring his canines.

"I may find your blood spilt across the floor pleasing, Elsa. Don't presume about such things." Elsa paled visibly at the audible threat. "What have you found?" Elsa swallowed the growing lump in her throat and nodded quickly.

"I've detected a source of great power somewhere near the outskirts of Reefside. I have reason to believe that it's another Dino Gem."

"Very good. Zeltrax, you will accompany Elsa in the recovery of this power source. A monster will be sent into the city to occupy the Power Rangers. Do not fail me again." Elsa and Zeltrax both nodded and left the chamber as Mesogog moved to the Gene Randomizer. "Why must I put up with such incompetence? It seems as if I must do everything myself." He brought his clawed hand down on the activation switch, sending the machine whirring into action.

- PRG -

The drive to the hospital proceeded uneventfully. Adam was driving as fast as he could, within the law, talking to Tanya in hushed tones. Kimberly couldn't make out what they were saying, and didn't even bother trying to. She sat in the rear of the cab in silence, watching the building move swiftly by as they drove. Every so often, she shifted her gaze to the unconscious man lying on the seat beside her, mentally keeping of track of his breathing, shallow as it may be.

Adam shifted uncomfortably in his seat, driving his right hand into his jeans pocket while he maintained control of the vehicle with his left. Tanya reached over instinctively and helped to steady the steering wheel while he dug into his pocket for something. A grunt of satisfaction came from his throat as he withdrew his hand from the recesses of the pocket, his cell phone in tow.

"What are you doing?" Tanya asked. Adam set himself more comfortably into the seat and flipped open the phone, quickly finding a number in his phone book.

"There's no way that all of the pieces of the armor are hidden here on Earth. In fact, there's a good chance that none of them are here. Which means that we need to get in touch with someone offworld, and if that's the case there's only one person that Tommy could have been trying to call." Tanya's eyes widened as the answer dawned upon her. After three rings, someone finally picked up on the other end.

"Yes, I'd like to speak with someone in the residence office, please."

- PRG -

A soft, intermittent beeping sound awakened the man from his slumber. He groaned sleepily, pushing himself into a sitting position. The pale yellow moonlight streaming in from the partially open window shined across his toned upper body, reflecting off of the thin layer of sweat already present there. He turned to the form beginning to stir in the bed beside him. He leaned over and brushed his lips gently across his wife's forehead.

"Go back to sleep," he cooed softly. "I'll find out what's wrong." She whispered something incoherent and rolled over, returning to sleep. The man reached down to the floor and retrieved a pair of blue jeans. Standing up, he pushed his left foot into the left pant leg, beginning to hop almost comically on one foot as he struggled to put the pants on in his still-drowsy state. Finally getting them on, after much cajoling, he walked over to a communications panel inset into the wall beside the bedroom door. Adjusting the controls to send a transmission to the barracks located a handful of metres away, he began to speak.

"Was it really necessary to wake me up at this hour, general?" he asked, fighting to hold back the yawn bubbling in the back of his throat.

"I apologize for the inconvenience. However, the nature of the communication we have just received warranted your immediate arousal." The man sighed and nodded to himself.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," he said. Terminating the transmission, he grabbed a dark t-shirt slung carelessly on a nearby chair and left the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.

- PRG -

Adam hung up the cell phone with a motion from his index finger. He had been on the phone for a scant few minutes, but had managed to explain the situation quickly enough.

"He said he'd meet us at the hospital in half an hour," he said briefly. Tanya nodded, stealing a glance backward at Kimberly. She was curled up on the seat, visibly shivering. _Probably not from the cold either,_ Tanya thought to herself. Adam seemed to notice it to, for he spoke.

"Are you alright, Kim?" he asked, concern audible in his voice. Kimberly bit her lower lip.

"I'm just worried about Jason and Tommy," she said, her voice unusually meek. Tanya smiled reassuringly.

"They can take care of themselves, Kim. Besides, if we had stayed our new friend here might not have made it. At least this way he'll have a chance," she said, trying to put Kim's mind at ease. Kim nodded, but the worry was still evident in her eyes.

"We're here," Adam announced, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had begun to fester in the jeep. He maneuvered the jeep through the parking lot, bringing it to a stop in front of the doors to Emergency. Grabbing hold of the overhanging bar, he pulled himself out of the jeep, landing lightly on his feet. He moved to the rear cab, and gingerly picked up the unconscious man, who moaned softly in pain. He locked eyes with Kimberly.

"Do you want to come in with me now or go with Tanya to park the jeep?" he asked. Kimberly shifted her gaze between Adam and Tanya, then back to Adam.

"I'll come with you," she said, standing up with her purse gripped firmly in hand. Adam nodded once, and turned to Tanya.

"Go park the jeep and wait for the others in front," he said, handing her a few bills for the cost of parking. Tanya nodded, and slid into the driver's seat, being careful to avoid the shifter in-between seats. As she drove off, Adam walked as quickly and carefully as possible through the automatic doors, with Kimberly falling into line a few steps behind.

- PRG -

The man had been wrong in how long it would take him to get to the barracks. He made it in eight minutes flat. He stopped before the large portcullis-like door and placed his hand against the palm reader, sweating slightly from the exertion of running. A wash of blue light moved across a digital screen just above the palm reader, scanner-like. The blue light made two more passes before the vague outline of the man's hand turned into the distinct impression of his palm. Brief flashes of the blue light illuminated each finger of his hand as the computerized algorithm searched the barracks' central database for a match. A high-pitched ring, followed by a deep _click_ from within the door denoted that a match had been found. The man removed his hand from the reader, and waited patiently as the servos within the door whirred to life, causing it to begin its slow climb to the top of its track. As soon as the door had raised enough to allow him to walk underneath it, the man walked into the barracks.

He gave brief nods to the soldiers stationed at the communications posts on either side of the door as he walked to the control hub located a few metres down the corridor. Two armed guards flanked the heavy-set twin doors, their eyes sweeping the corridors leading to it in parallel, semi-elliptical arcs. The man stopped before the guards.

"Gentlemen," he said curtly. "I believe I've been expected." The guards nodded in unison, stepping aside to allow him to pass.

"You may go ahead, sir," one of them said, activating a control behind him. The doors swung inward, allowing the man to the security center of the facility. Nodding his thanks, he walked in, moving to the general's position as the doors closed behind him.

"General," he said, announcing his presence. The general turned, his head turning slightly as he made eye contact. "What is the nature of the transmission?"

"It's being delivered on a delta-band frequency," he replied. The man's eyes narrowed.

"Delta-band… But that's impossible. Nobody uses the delta-band anymore," he said, his mind working furiously. "Unless…" He moved quickly to the nearest computer terminal and began to work, his fingers flying across the keyboard. A map of the solar system appeared on the screen in front of him, overlapped with a grid divided into alphanumerically labeled quadrants. He performed a sensor sweep through sporadically placed tracking satellites throughout the system, in an attempt to trace the origin of the communication. He turned to the general. "Have your men scan the adjacent systems for the origin of that transmission." The general nodded and gave the order.

The man's heart began to race just as fast as his mind was. _There are only a few people who would send a transmission on a delta-band frequency. Something serious must have happened._ The head of one of the technicians to his right bobbed up.

"I believe I have found the point of origin," he said. The man straightened and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Put it up on the main screen," he said. The technician nodded and put it up on the largest monitor with a few keystrokes. The image of a red dwarf system appeared on the screen. The top of the image read "**KAROVA SYSTEM**". A flashing yellow dot, denoting the transmission's point of origin, appeared on an orbiting station of the third planet. The man nodded to himself and turned to the general.

"Is there somewhere that I can take this in private?" he asked. The general nodded.

"You may use my office," he replied, pointing to a door in the northwestern corner of the room. Nodding his thanks, he walked briskly to the door, opened it and stepped into the office, letting the door swing shut behind him. He sat down behind the desk and spurred the computer sitting there into action.

"Please enter voice authorization," a computerized voice stated. The man leaned forward.

"Voice authorization: Blue-Tango-Charlie-Tango-Nine-Two."

"Voice authorization confirmed."

"Accept incoming transmission. This screen only." The man waited while the computer processed the commands. A beep sounded, signifying that the transmission was coming through. The man leaned back into the chair and appraised the screen as it flickered to life. The image of a man in his mid-twenties appeared. He was dressed in a gray military jacket overtop a form-fitting red shirt. His shoulder-length, blond-streaked brown hair looked disheveled, his eyes had heavy bags beneath them.

"Hi –"

"No names," the man behind the desk interrupted. "I can't be certain that the connection is secure." The man on the other end of the transmission nodded.

"Understood."

"What do you have for me?"

"I detected a ship leaving the Earth's atmosphere about ten minutes ago. It's of Direntian design."

"Direntian? Is it the same ship that you detected a week ago?"

"We can't be sure. I have someone working on it now. I should know within twenty minutes."

"Good. I'm heading to Earth on my ship, the _Yavneh_. You should do the same. Contact me as soon as you know."

"Will do."

The screen cut out, black except for the words **TRANSMISSION TERMINATED**.

- PRG -

Adam let out a breath slowly, leaning against the wall of the waiting room. Kimberly sat in the chair next to him, wringing her hands slowly.

"I'm really beginning to hate hospitals," she said softly. Adam chuckled.

"Believe me, you aren't the only one," he replied. He crossed his arms across his chest, glancing down at his watch. "He's probably still in surgery."

"How bad was he?" Kimberly asked. Adam shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't be sure, but if I were to venture a guess, I'd say broken ribs, internal bleeding and a concussion, at least." The door to the elevator adjacent to the waiting room chimed open, revealing the group of Hayley, Katherine, Rocky, Tanya and Zack. Adam waved them over, and the group moved towards them. Hearing footsteps coming from behind him, Adam turned to see a doctor approaching him.

"How is he, doctor?" he asked as soon as the doctor was close enough to hear.

"Are you a family member?"

"No, I'm the one who brought him in. We found him unconscious in the park."

"He's out of surgery. We have him in the ICU, in stable condition."

"I need to see him, doctor. When will that be possible?"

"I don't think that's a—"

"This is a matter of life and death! When can I see him?" The doctor's eyes narrowed.

"You can't. If that changes I'll let you know, but until then you either stay in the waiting room or get out of this hospital." The doctor walked away without saying another word. Adam gritted his teeth and was about to reply with a scathing remark but was restrained by a firm hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Zack standing there.

"It's not worth it, man. Let it go." Adam sighed heavily and allowed Zack to lead him back to the waiting room.

- PRG -

A light blue jeep pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, tires screeching as it came to a halt in a parking space near the hospital entrance. The door opened, and a man stepped out into the afternoon air. He stood about five feet eleven, with closely cropped light brown hair. He was clad in a pair of dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt and a loose fitting blue flannel shirt with the arms rolled up just past the elbows. He closed the door behind him, patting the hood once before pocketing the keys. He looked quickly from side to side before locating the machine responsible for paying for parking.

He scanned the instructions quickly, pulling out his wallet from his back left pocket. He opened it and withdrew a couple bills: a five and two ones. He inserted them into the machine and selected an hour and a half, just to be safe. Pressing the 'print' button, he grabbed the white slip as soon as it was available and jogged back to his vehicle, placing the ticket onto the dashboard, just above the steering column. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, before making the trek to the entrance.

Reaching it in a few minutes, he entered the building, being met with a brief gust of air as the automatic doors opened before him. Turning to his left, he saw the information desk. Walking over to it, he smiled at the woman seated there, and began to speak.

"Hi there, I'm looking for a few friends of mine. They came in through emergency with an unconscious man. I was wondering if you could tell me where they might be." The woman looked up at him and smiled.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. It's against protocol. What you told me is too vague to be able to tell you anything, anyway. Your best bet would be to head over to emergency and see if they're still there."

"How do I get there from here?" he asked. The woman pointed to her right.

"Take that corridor straight down and make a right. There'll be a sign hanging overhead. You can't miss it."

"Thanks a lot. I appreciate it." He walked down the hall briskly, hoping to hell that they'd still be there.

- PRG -

Ryan tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. He was seated in the belly of Draeph's ship, waiting to be told of their destination. He unbuckled the belt holding him down and stood up, intent on finding Draeph and finding out. He didn't get far before Draeph appeared in the doorway, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Going somewhere, Ryan?" he asked.

"I was just coming to find you, actually. Where the hell are we going?" Draeph took a step forward, motioning for Ryan to sit back down. "I'm fine where I am, thank you." Draeph's head tilted slightly to the side, his eyebrows rising briefly before nodding.

"Very well. We're headed to a planet in the next system over called Onyx. A planet of ill-repute populated by the lowlife scum of the universe. They aren't my kind of people, but they serve their purpose when used properly. My master has informed me that the right armguard is located there. Once we've acquired it—"

"—it'll be one down, four to go," Ryan finished. Draeph nodded.

"Precisely. We'll arrive in approximately two hours. I suggest that you rest until then. I don't know what we'll face on Onyx, but it's best that we be prepared." Ryan groaned and lowered himself back into his seat.

"I feel like I'm going to go stir-crazy in here," he muttered.

- PRG -

The door the bridge opened with a hiss. Six pairs of eyes turned to face him.

"Where are we headed?"

"We're heading home," the newcomer replied. "Set course for Earth, maximum hyper rush velocity." As the others moved to follow the order, he stood at the accelerators. _Looks like it's time to break it open…again._

- PRG -

Direntian – (dir-REN-she-in)

- PRG -

The name of the ship mentioned in this chapter, the _Yavneh_, is named after the producer of the hit Fox television show "24". The voice authorization code used related directly to the character who used it. I challenge you guys to try and find the connection. I hope you guys like this chapter. The last little bit may seem rushed, but trust me, I did it for a reason. I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say, as always. 'Till next time.

Oh, and do feel free to let me know what you think regarding the new format of the chapters, readability wise.


	11. Chapter XI

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: A good four-fifths of this chapter is Ryan-centric. This was an insanely difficult chapter to write, and I'm not even sure if I pulled it off properly. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Sorry it took so long, guys and gals. I wanted to try and have the flashback indented, but no dice. Anyway, on with the chapter.

**Chapter XI**

Ryan's breathing came slowly, steadily as he moved through his kata, as fluently as water moved through a narrow river. He was clad in nothing but a pair of loose fitting pants, his shirt having been long since abandoned due to the humidity in the room. The shirt, his jacket and the Dragon morpher lay casually discarded in an adjacent corner. The only light came from a multitude of candles lining the bulkheads, providing light to the perimeter of the chamber but leaving the center blanketed in darkness. He liked this chamber. It was peaceful; gave him a chance to be alone with his thoughts. Strange runes and glyphs covered the bulkheads, seemingly shimmering in the flickering candlelight. _Draeph's doing, no doubt,_ he mused.

Was he jaded? Maybe a little, but that was to be expected, all things considered. Pissed off and a little desperate? That was probably the understatement of the decade. Ryan scoffed, running his tongue along the front of his teeth absent-mindedly. Why else would he have accepted Draeph's offer? _Because I had nothing left to lose and everything to get back, that's why. _He blew the air out of his lungs, trying to force his mind blank and concentrate on the kata. It worked momentarily, before the sound of the door opening broke his concentration. He groaned inwardly, abandoning his attempt to regain his focus. Crouching low, he took refuge in the darkness as he watched Draeph enter the chamber.

"I thought I suggested that you rest until our arrival," he said. Ryan stood up, resuming his ready stance to begin the kata anew.

"That doesn't mean I had to follow your suggestion. Besides, I needed to do something to keep busy. I'm not the kind of guy who can just sit around and do nothing."

"I am the same way," Draeph replied, nodded slightly. "Though I _would_ rather you ask permission in the future before helping yourself to my private chambers." Ryan smirked, and nodded once. "Very well. I will inform you when we are within a half hour's flight of the landing point." He left without saying another word, or waiting for Ryan to respond. As the door slid closed behind him, Ryan sighed, returning his full attention to the kata. At least, that was his intention. Yet, for some reason, he felt his mind drifting back to his first confrontation with Draeph…

- BEGIN FLASHBACK -

_The temple faded swiftly into the distance as Ryan put it to his muffler, the wide tread of his motorcycle's wheels gripping the sun-scorched highway firmly. He rode low; ignoring the wisps of dust the tires were kicking up, his helmet strapped securely to the seat behind him. His hair blew crazily in the wind, the occasional blond lock getting behind his sunglasses into his eyes, forcing him to blink rapidly in an attempt to clear his vision. He faintly heard the sound of a sparrow overhead, singing its cheerful song high above him. The wind whipped by him as he accelerated, pressing him more strongly against his seat. Even with all of the external distractions, his mind remained focused solely on the road ahead, trying to push the tumultuous feelings that had resurfaced during his meeting with the professor from his mind. _He had no right to ask that of me_ he thought angrily to himself. _Not again. He of all people should have realized that by now.

_As his leather-gloved hands tightened their grip on the handlebars, his gaze narrowed as it fell upon a dark form standing in the middle of the road a few hundred meters ahead. His right hand moved of its own accord, swiftly gunning the throttle. The sudden boost in acceleration upped the G-Forces being placed on him, forcing him to lean forward to compensate. His stomach clenched involuntarily as his bike ate up the distance hungrily. Neither him nor the mysterious form in the road made a move until the very last moment. When it seemed certain that there would be a collision, the form leapt to the side, rolling into a crouching position. Ryan quickly slammed on the brake and brought the bike into a controlled slide, eliciting a screech of protest from the tires. The bike quickly came to a halt, and Ryan straightened, removing his right hand from the brake to brush strands of hair from his eyes. Smoke produced from the burnt rubber of the tires began to drift lazily into the air as he extended the kickstand and lowered the bike's weight onto it. Satisfied that it wouldn't fall, he swung his other leg over the chassis and turned to face the unknown form, removing his sunglasses in a slow, deliberate manner.  
_

_The form appeared to be a large man, but Ryan was unable to tell for certain, as a brown trench coat and fedora obscured his vision of the form's physical features. The form took a step forward, allowing Ryan to catch a brief flash of green in the area where its feet were._

"_Ryan Steele?" it asked. Ryan's right hand curled into a fist cradled by his other. _This guy doesn't sound human.

"_Who's asking?" he countered, trying to sound as indifferent as possible._

"_You're coming with me," it replied, completely ignoring Ryan's question. _Well, that was rude.

"_Didn't they teach you any manners on the back-water planet you were hatched on?" Ryan asked, cracking his knuckles. The form chuckled aloud, reaching up with one arm to remove the fedora. _Funny how the removal of a hat can instantly confirm everything I needed to know about a guy_ Ryan thought. The form clearly wasn't human. Draconian features were prevalent in its face; green, grainy scales covered the outermost epidermal layer; a pair of deep red embers shone deeply beneath heavy, overhanging brows. The most noticeable feature were the twin pairs of yellow horns jutting out from either side of its cranium. It opened its mouth, baring a jaw full of incisors._

"_Your insults fall on deaf ears, human," it replied. "You have no say in the matter. You're coming with me." Ryan crossed his arms across his chest, cocking his head slightly to one side._

"_Should I be scared?" he asked incredulously. The faint sound of fabric tearing tugged at the fringe of his senses, alerting him as he noticed movement coming from behind the form. The sound grew louder, until two large protrusions jutted from its back, sending torn fragments of the trench coat dancing in the breeze. The protrusions moved, unfurling themselves to reveal a pair of wings. They were similar to those one might find on a bat; the leathery, veinous skin stretched taut over the bone structure, giving them a rather demonic appearance._

"_Of Eineth Ryujin?" he retorted. "Most definitely yes." Reaching back, he gripped a fairly large wad of the coat in each hand, and pulled upward. The trench coat didn't stand much of a chance. Within moments it was torn to ribbons, revealing Eineth's full figure. His entire body was covered in the same green scales his head was. An emerald jade stone, the size of Ryan's fist and surrounded by a golden border, was embedded in the middle of his chest. A like-coloured tail, approximately two-thirds the length of his body, swayed gently behind him as if it were keeping time with a metronome. Ryan's eyes narrowed as he kept his gaze on Eineth's tail..._

_He threw himself backward as the warning sign flashed through his mind, the tail whistling through the air above him where his head had been a scant moment before. He twisted and spun in mid-air, landing uncertainly on his feet facing Eineth. A sharp stinging sensation drew his attention to his chest, where a long sweeping gash had cut through his shirt and part of his jacket. He returned his gaze to Eineth, who was chuckling as his tail came into view in front of him, revealing a long scythe-like blade that broke through the skin and curved viciously a few inches past the end of the appendage. Ryan stripped the jacket from his body, letting it fall to the ground from his right hand._

"_Surely you don't believe you pose a challenge to me," Eineth asked, the arrogance dripping from his voice. Ryan just smirked, slowly removing his gloves._

"_The thought had crossed my mind," he replied, tossing his gloves atop his jacket. Eineth dashed forward, his tail whipping back and forth in front of him. Ryan leapt into the air, grabbing hold of the tail with both hands, just below the blade. He flipped forward, pushing the tail to the side, and landed lightly a few steps behind Eineth. He performed a back spinning heel kick, sending his foot hurtling towards Eineth's head._

_Eineth's forearm shot up, blocking Ryan's leg in mid-flight. Ryan balanced precariously on the sole of his foot, as his other leg was held suspended by Eineth's arm. Pushing off, he snapped a kick into the back of Eineth's head, forcing his other leg free. He performed a back handspring to put some distance between them, as Eineth was forced back a couple steps, chuckling and scratched the back of his head._

"_Was that supposed to hurt, you powerless whelp?"_

"_That was the idea, yeah." Inside, Ryan was reeling. _He's right. Without my virtualizer, I'm as helpless as a child. I don't even have a weapon._ The situation didn't look good. He had nowhere to run, and though he had skill, he wasn't arrogant enough to believe that he stood a chance without his powers._

"_I shall tell you a secret, human," Eineth said, moving to tower in front of Ryan. "You only need to be alive for me to collect my bounty. Your being unharmed isn't required." Eineth's fist shot out, catching Ryan solidly under the chin. A brief stream of spit flew from his mouth as he was thrown back, the tips of his feet grazing his motorcycle as he was flung through the air. He groaned aloud as he hit the ground, skidding backward as his motorcycle tipped over with a creak. The side mirrors shattered on impact, covering the ground around the bike with a thin layer of glass shards._

_Ryan took a breath, and immediately regretted it. He felt a searing pain as his chest rose, bringing his arm instinctively to his chest in an attempt to cradle it. He gently applied pressure with the tips of his fingers, gritting his teeth in pain with each touch. _Broken ribs…three, at least._ He pushed himself shakily to his feet, trying his best to ignore the pain. Eineth laughed._

"_Do you yield?"_

"_I'd rather die."_

"_It won't be that easy." Eineth's tail whipped out, catching Ryan heavily on the side of his face. He was sent hurtling a few metres to the side, lying dangerously close to the guardrail and a twenty-metre fall to his death. He moaned in agony, barely able to move, as Eineth approached his prone form, chuckling in amusement._

"_How pitiful. It's fortunate that my expectations weren't very high. You failed to meet even them." The dull sound of something metallic bouncing on the road drew Ryan's attention to his right hand, where a small object was now lying. As soon as he got it into his hand, he chuckled painfully, not caring how it got there. Eineth reached down, picking Ryan up by the back of his neck. Ryan's right arm hung seemingly limply at his side, his fist clenched around the object. "You _are_ coming with me, Ryan Steele, and there's nothing you can do about it. Do you have any last words?" Ryan coughed heavily, but managed smirk._

"_Yeah. Trooper Transform."_

_A blue, piercing light engulfed him as the transformation took over. Eineth gritted his teeth as pain shot up his arm, trying in vain to keep hold of him. The light, the outward release of energy stemming partially from the Morphing Grid, partially from the pendant itself, seared Eineth's flesh, eliciting a loud yelp of pain from his draconian throat before forcing his hand free. The light subsided, leaving Ryan standing tall before Eineth, encased in his blue and silver Trooper armor. Although the pain was still there, it seemed like nothing more than a dull and hazy feeling in the back of his mind as the geyser of sheer adrenaline took over. He rolled his neck, dropping into a fighting stance._

"_Ready for round two?"_

"_Eager to be beaten again, are we?" Eineth replied, chuckling. "Very well. Now that you've put up this meager defense, I don't have to hold back quite as much." His tail shot forward like a bullwhip, intending to make a diagonal slash across Ryan's chest. It didn't make it that far. Ryan's left forearm shot up and halted the tail in mid-flight, bringing his right hand to hold the tail tight. Eineth's eyes narrowed._

"_Your armor has healed you. How?" Ryan chuckled inside his helmet._

"_What can I say? All I needed was a pick-me-up." He jerked Eineth towards him by the tail, bringing his opponent stumbling towards him, and caught him with a right cross to the jaw. He threw a flurry of left and right hands, taking advantage of Eineth's loss of balance. As he pressed his attack, Ryan could make out the rumble of an engine growling faintly in the distance._

_Eineth kept up his defensive posture, reacting quick enough to block most of Ryan's strikes while sneaking in swift slashes of his clawed fingers to Ryan's chest plate, eliciting sparks. Ryan performed a spinning heel kick that forced Eineth to duck, allowing him to take a step back to tactically rethink the situation. It was becoming readily apparent that the fight wasn't going to be as easy as he had first thought. Eineth's reflexes were obviously honed considerably, and were on a par with his own. The rumble in the distance was growing louder. _I've got to get him out of here before that car gets here. If he gets a hold of a hostage, I'm going to be at a serious disadvantage._He drew his sword and made a beeline for Eineth, who was flexing his wings, apparently in preparation to take off._

_Planting both feet in mid-stride, Ryan leapt into the air, gauging the distance so that he would make contact with Eineth at the apex of his jump. Eineth continued to rise into the sky, the strokes of his powerful wings forcing the air beneath them. His tail stiffened upright behind him as he regarded Ryan with a smirk. _Rash, human. Too rash._ His ears perked up as the rumble grew closer. Bringing his tail forward, Eineth deflected Ryan's blade, delivering a swift kick to his side. As the blow sent Ryan tumbling back to the highway below, Eineth turned his attention to the source of the rumbling; the vehicle that had just turned the corner and was now approaching the scene at a moderate speed. Eineth's serpentine tongue snaked out, running across the front of his teeth. _Perfect._ He brought his hands in front of him, concentrating as the stone in the middle of his chest began to glow with a luminescent emerald light. He pushed his arms forward, directing the beam of jade-coloured energy that emerged from the stone. An explosion of asphalt and dust rocked the highway just in front of the car, forcing the driver of the vehicle to swerve hard to try and avoid it._

_Ryan twisted in mid-air as he approached the ground, planting his non-weapon hand on the asphalt and performing a handspring back into a standing position. He recovered in time to see the car overturn as it fell into the large hole created by the beam of energy. _Just my luck_ he thought to himself as he moved quickly to the hole, trying to beat Eineth to it. _This guy must be a mind reader._ Eineth caught a glimpse of Ryan's approach, and turned, sending a beam of energy from the stone hurtling towards him. Ryan strafed to his left, drawing his blaster and firing shots in rapid succession as he made it to the lip of the hole. A strong flap from Eineth's left wing moved him from the path of the weapon's blasts, lowering him swiftly into the hole._

_Ryan cursed as he skidded to a halt at the rim of the crater, watching in forced inaction as Eineth dragged the still-dazed driver from the vehicle. The sunlight reflected off of golden blond curls, making Ryan's heart leap into his throat. _It…can't be possible…_ Eineth leaped from the crater, driver in tow, and landed lightly a few metres from Ryan._

_Ryan tried to swallow past the growing lump in his throat as he got a look at the driver's form. At her face. Her body wasn't toned in the same way, and her eyes didn't hold the same twinkle that he remembered, but her face was unmistakable._

"_Kaitlin?" he whispered, his throat unexplainably dry. "It can't be. You're…" He choked on the last word, unable to force himself to say it. His jaw began to tremble slightly, forcing him to clench his teeth as his breath came in short, faltering gasps. "Let her go, you bastard."_

"_Interesting," Eineth said, forcing the woman's head up to look at him. "Who are you to him?"_

"_I d-don't know him," she stammered, visibly shaking._

"_Then you're of no use to me," he replied, flinging her forcefully backward into the tall rock face that flanked the highway. She screamed as she hurtled through the air, slamming painfully into the rocky wall before falling to the ground. Ryan's heart began to pound fiercely in his chest._

"_NO!" He bolted forward, ducking Eineth's tail and uppercutting him roughly beneath the chin as he rushed to her prone body. He lowered himself to one knee, gently rolling her over. His breath caught in his throat, and he was forced to look away when he saw the gaping wound in her stomach. Noticing drops of blood falling beside her body, he looked up and saw its source: a sharp outcropping jutting out of the rock face, blood glistening off its surface. He sat her up against the wall, being careful to support her stomach, trying to ignore her moans of agony as best he could._

"_Come on, Kaitlin. Speak to me…" One of her eyes opened partway._

"_Why…do you keep calling me…that…?" she asked feebly, blood bubbling from the corner of her mouth. Ryan quickly removed his helmet and placed it on the ground beside him, hoping that seeing his face might help._

"_Because it's who you are." She licked her lips, now coated with blood._

"_My name…is Heather…not…Kait—" She wasn't able to finish. She began to cough violently, blood coming up in spurts. When she looked up at him, her gaze was full of pain… and fright._

"_Help me…please…" she whispered, her voice even weaker than it was before. Ryan felt tears beginning to tug at the corners of his eyes._

"_I…can't," he managed to choke out, swallowing hard and closing his eyes. "I'm sorry." The tears began to flow down his cheeks as he opened his eyes, reaching his gauntleted right hand to her throat. There was no pulse. She was gone. He took her now-still form in his arms, cradling it gently. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, stroking her hair and crying freely. Eineth, having recovered from the uppercut, looked on idly a few metres away, amusement playing over his features._

"_Humans are such a fragile species," he spat, massaging his jaw. "Though you seem to be an exception to the rule. You've lasted far longer than I would have thought." Ryan took a deep, shuddering breath and lay Heather gently on the ground, closing her eyes with his fingertips. He pushed himself slowly to his feet, quickly blinking away the tears. He turned to Eineth, jaw clenched and a cold, angry gaze permeating from his emerald blue eyes. Eyes that shed no more tears._

_A swift kick sent his discarded helmet hurtling at Eineth's head. Eineth sidestepped easily, chuckling at the obviously futile attack._

"_Was that supposed to—" His chuckle turned into a wheeze as the air rapidly left his lungs, accompanied by a loud grunt. He looked down to see Ryan, eyes blazing, his fist buried in Eineth's gut. If looks could kill, Eineth would have been dead a hundred times over. Eineth opened his mouth in surprise, trying to speak; no words escaped his draconian jaw._

_Eineth's tail whipped around to strike him, a reflex action. Ryan's left hand moved deftly, catching the tail just below its bladed tip. His right hand broke contact with Eineth's stomach, moving to grip the hilt of his sword, which lay still-sheathed on his right hip. Drawing it quickly, the blade pointing towards his body rather than away from it, he continued the motion, bringing it upward in a wide arc. Eineth bellowed in agony as the blade sliced through his tail, just past the midpoint. Bright, reddish-yellow blood spurted from the stump of a tail that remained attached to his body while more blood dripped from the stump in Ryan's hand to spatter onto the paved road underfoot._

_Shifting his hold on the stump, Ryan took another swipe with his sword, severing it just below the base of the blade, leaving just enough of it to form a sort of organic handle. He tossed it lightly into the air, catching it after it had rotated once, leaving him holding the end of the tail, with the blade curving down past his knuckles; it had more the look of a plamnus than a tail._

_A guttural roar escape Ryan's throat as dashed forward, plamnus in one hand and sword in the other. The adrenaline flooding through his veins had substantially increased his strength, speed and reflexes; he felt like he could take on an army single-handedly in the state he was in. As soon as he was close enough to Eineth, who had been forced back a few steps from the pain of the wound, he took a swipe at his legs with his sword._

_Although he wasn't used to pain of this magnitude, Eineth _had_ had his share of fairly serious wounds in the past, and was able to keep enough presence of mind to hop into the air and over the blade. Ryan rolled his wrist as he finished the swipe, reversing the stroke and sending the blade whistling for Eineth's head as he returned to the ground. As Eineth moved to duck, Ryan followed the strike with the rest of his body, taking a step forward and bringing his other arm up in preparation for a strong downward slash. Eineth managed to duck the first attack, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the second completely. The tail-blade bit into Eineth's flesh, causing a large diagonal slash from his right shoulder blade to the middle of his chest. _

_As he finished the twin strokes, Ryan cocked his left leg and snapped a side kick to Eineth's face, sending him tumbling to the ground as his hands moved to his chest in an effort to staunch the bleeding from his wound. Before Eineth had a chance to get to his feet, Ryan was there, his boot pressing down firmly on Eineth's abdomen, his sword pointed at Eineth's exposed throat._

"_You made three mistakes. First, you took the job. Second, you didn't kill me when you had the chance. But the worst mistake you made—" he paused, pointing to Heather's dead body. "—was killing her." He chose his next words carefully, not wanting the mercenary to know how much the woman's death had affected him. "With nobody to protect, I can cut loose." He crouched down; keeping the sword trained a few inches above Eineth's jugular, and buried the tail-blade into the thin, fleshy membrane of his left wing, eliciting a bloodcurdling scream of pain to roll off his tongue. "Why did you kill her? She was no threat to you. She was an INNOCENT!" Eineth bared his teeth, biting back the pain._

"_Nobody is innocent, human. Not entirely," he replied. "You would appear to understand this better than most. I can see it in your eyes." Ryan bent over, leaving a scant few inches between his and Eineth's face, pressing his sword blade to his throat._

"_Who put the price on my neck?" he growled, pressing the blade tighter against the merc's throat to drive home its importance. "This is one question you don't want to answer wrong." Eineth swallowed hard, feeling the cold, smooth metal on the verge of piercing the soft skin of his neck._

"_I don't know. I wasn't to know until I brought you to the rendezvous, to collect the fee." Ryan's forehead wrinkled, narrowing his gaze as he pulled the sword away from Eineth's throat and impaled it into the ground next to his head, sending up small chunks of pavement in its wake._

"_You won't be making your appointment, merc," he replied, spitting out the last word in disgust. He brought his right fist down hard on Eineth's chest, cracking the emerald jewel. Reaching over with his left hand, he withdrew the tail-blade and brought it swiftly across Eineth's throat, slitting it from ear to ear. As blood flowed from the wound and gurgled from his mouth, Ryan pushed himself to his feet, dropping makeshift plamnus on the mercenary's dying body. "But I'll be sure to pass along your regards if I run into the one responsible for it." He pulled his sword free from the ground, sheathed it and walked slowly across the highway once more, coming to a halt before Heather's body._

_He crouched down and gathered her body in his arms, struggling to fight the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him as he rose to his feet. _It's not Kaitlin. You know that. It may look like her, but it **isn't her**_, he thought, trying to convince himself of that very fact._ _Her limp body felt like it weighed next to nothing as he walked, her left arm dangling lifelessly across his forearm. He bowed his head, gritting his teeth as tears fell from his eyes, splashing against her immobile chest. _I let you die again…

_Ryan saw a dark shadow on the ground as a lone figure leapt through the air from somewhere behind him, and he stopped walking, looking up and keeping a protective hold of Heather's body as the figure landed nimbly on its feet a few metres before him._

_The figure stood a couple inches taller than Ryan, and had skin made of what appeared to be ebony rock, with sharp protrusions jutting from each shoulder. A highly polished red and black breastplate, with an unfamiliar insignia emblazoned on its left breast. Both his arms were covered with sleek black armor up to the middle of the forearm, and extending just past the middle of his palms. His legs were completely covered with a similar material. The figure regarded Ryan with a cool gaze that didn't appear to be hostile._

"_I was watching you as you handled Eineth Ryujin," the figure stated simply. Ryan narrowed his eyes._

"_Who the hell are you?"_

"_My name is Draeph Naisan. I speak for one far greater than myself," he replied, bowing slightly. Ryan's head cocked sideways._

"_Who is this one you speak of?"_

"_My master's name is not important. What is important, however, is what he can offer."_

"_And that would be?" Ryan asked. Draeph gestured for him to come forward._

"_If you'll allow me to show you?" Ryan's grip on Heather's body tightened. Draeph noticed this, and held up a hand._

"_Do not be alarmed. Her body will not be touched. You have my word." Ryan stared critically at Draeph's face. _He seems to be one of the honourable ones_, he thought, nodding slightly and laying the body gently down on the side of the highway. _Somehow, I feel like I can trust him. _He walked forward to stand in front of Draeph._

"_If you break your word I'll kill you myself, do you understand me?" he asked. Draeph nodded curtly._

"_Very well," he replied, reaching behind him and withdrawing a small circular device. Ryan eyed the device suspiciously._

"_What's that?" he asked._

"_This is how I'm going to show you," he responded, swiftly slamming it into Ryan's brow before he could react. Ryan's mouth opened in surprise and pain, forcing his eyes closed. When he opened them, he found himself dressed in his civilian clothes. Looking around briefly, he recognized where he was._

"_The temple?" he asked aloud, scoffing. "Why am I here?"_

"_We are not where you believe we are, Ryan," Draeph's voice responded behind him. Ryan whirled to see the warrior leaning against the pillar just behind him._

"_Then why don't you enlighten me," he retorted, folding his arms across his chest._

"_We are observing one of your memories," Draeph said, pointing to the opposite end of the temple. "Look." Ryan turned to look in the direction Draeph was pointing. At the far end of the temple, he saw himself and his father sparring. The corner of his mouth curled upward in a sad smile as he watched the memory unfold. The smile didn't stay for long. In a bright flash of yellow-white light, an army of ultra skugs appeared and began attacking the pair. Ryan's jaw tightened and turned to Draeph._

"_Why are you showing me this?"_

"_Because this is where the troubles began for you. Prior to this event, you and your friends believed that your final victory over the being known as Grimlord was assured, and that things would return to normal," Draeph stated, nodding to the battle. "This event was the beginning of the end, not only of the war you fought for so long, but of your life as you knew it."_

"_You think I don't know that?" Ryan asked, the volume of his voice beginning to increase. "This isn't just a memory for me!" Draeph simply nodded and snapped his fingers. The location changed, and Ryan's eyes narrowed as he remembered the chamber they were in._

"_No, that's enough. I don't want to see this."_

"_You must see it, Ryan. Only then will you appreciate what my master plans to offer you." The scene flashed forward. "This is two days after your father's capture. The day after his capture, Kaitlin was taken by Doom Master while on a reconnaissance mission to try and gather information on Grimlord's new base." The vision changed, showing Kaitlin and Tyler Steele hanging suspended from the ceiling on either side of Grimlord's throne, an open grate beneath each of them. Grimlord sat on his throne as J.B. and Memory Ryan entered the room, fully armored. "You and J.B. managed to kill Grimlord and Doom Master, but you failed." The scene flashed forward again; Kaitlin and Tyler were gone; Memory Ryan angrily pushed his way past J.B. "Grimlord managed to sever the chains holding up Kaitlin and your father, and they fell to their deaths." Tears began to fall down Ryan's face as he relived the deaths of the two people he held most dear. He shoved Draeph backward._

"_Why are you doing this! I know I failed them! I know it was my fault they died! And I know that nothing can be done about it!" Draeph snapped his fingers once more… and they were back in the real world; Ryan was clad in his armor once more. He pulled the device from Ryan's forehead and returned it to its original location. _

"_That is precisely the point, Ryan," he said. "You couldn't do anything about it then… but my master can do something about it now." Ryan's eyes widened, the shock registering on his features._

"_What are you saying?"_

"_I am saying that my master has the power to bring them back to you… for a price."_

"_Name it!" Ryan exclaimed quickly. "I'll do anything you ask." Draeph let out a breath and nodded once._

"_Very well. I shall explain what is required of you, and then you can make your decision. My master is currently trapped in non-corporeal form; able to influence, but not directly affect the events that go on in the universe. Although he can enter a soulless body for extremely short periods of time, he wishes to be able to walk free in the universe permanently. There is a suit of armor scattered amongst the known planets of this galaxy. When brought together, this armor will provide enough power to create a permanent corporeal body for him. If you aid me in gathering the pieces, he will raise your father and your love." Ryan mulled the situation over. _This almost sounds too good to be true_, he thought._

"_What's the catch?" he asked._

"_In order to handle the armor, one must meet one of two conditions: be a high-ranking wizard, or—" Draeph paused, pressing a control on the side of his belt. A chest materialized in his waiting hand. "—be connected to the Power." Ryan took the chest, and opened it. Inside, a green-and-golden dagger and a golden coin lay on a bed of red velvet. Both the dagger and the coin were emblazoned with the same symbol: a three-toed footprint._

"_Behold the power of the Dragon," Draeph said, clasping his arms in front of him. "By wielding these, you will have the ability to handle the pieces of the armor and fulfill your obligation, if you choose to accept my master's offer." Ryan reached into the box, tentatively moving to touch the coin. As soon as the tips of his glove made contact with it, a large jolt of pain surged through his arm, sending the chest clattering to the ground._

"_What the hell just happened?" he exclaimed. Draeph retrieved the chest from the ground._

"_You cannot be in possession of two forms of power. In order to accept my master's offer, you must sacrifice your V.R. powers." Ryan's hand moved to his neck, and a bright flash of light returned him to normal. He immediately felt weak as he held his virtualizer in his hand, the pain from his wounds having returned with a vengeance. He looked at it, watching the sunlight reflect off of the jewel's multiple facets. If he did this, there was no going back. He'd be giving into his desperation, sacrificing everything on the off chance that what he was being offered was legitimate. It didn't take him long to make up his mind._

"_We have a deal," he said, offering the virtualizer to Draeph. Draeph gestured to the chest._

"_Place it inside, and take up your new mantle," he said. Reaching for the chest once more, Ryan placed the virtualizer gently next to the coin, taking care to leave space between them, and gripped the dagger by its handle, withdrawing it from its resting place. Melodies began to play very faintly in the back of his mind, causing him to look at the weapon strangely. "From your reaction, it would appear that the melodies have revealed themselves to you." Ryan simply nodded. "They are your control melodies. They provide you access to the varying aspects of your new powers. I cannot explain any further than that, because I do not know any more. You will know how to use them when needed." Reaching out with his other hand, Ryan took the coin and closed his fist around it. A surge of jade energy flowed into him from the coin; it was as if a dam had been broken, and all the energy it had been holding back came gushing through in a tidal wave of power. Upon opening his hand, a golden object roughly two-thirds the size of his hand materialized, with the coin set in its center._

"_That is a morpher," Draeph stated. "You will use it to transform into the Green Dragon Ranger. Only while morphed will you be able to handle the pieces of the armor. You need only call out 'Dragonzord' to initialize the transformation sequence." Ryan nodded in acknowledgment, clipping the morpher to his belt buckle, briefly noting that he felt better. _The power from the coin must have healed me_, he thought. He bent down, taking Heather in his arms again. _

"_You cannot take her back," Draeph said. "There is work to be done." Ryan's temper flared, his eyes briefly flashing emerald._

"_She doesn't deserve to be left here. Her family deserves to be allowed to grieve."_

"_I never said she was to remain here." Draeph placed his hand on her chest, causing her to disappear in a blanket of shimmering light._

"_Where did she go?"_

"_She has been transported to a safe location, where she will be found by those who love her. Now, there is a task you must complete to prove your loyalty." Ryan crossed his arms across his chest._

"_What kind of _task_?"_

"_You must kill the one you know as Horatio Hart." Ryan's mouth dropped open._

"_Why? He's never done anything to you?"_

"_Because we must know if you are willing to do what it takes to complete this mission. If you cannot, your life is forfeit, and we will find someone more… suitable to the task." Ryan sighed. He wasn't sure if it was something he was prepared to do. _If I don't, he'll kill me. But… I may hate the professor, but he doesn't deserve to die…_ Draeph's hand snaked to the pommel of the broadsword that hung off his hip. Ryan nodded slightly._

"_Alright. I'll do it."  
_

- END FLASHBACK -

He shook his head quickly, trying to clear his mind of the painful memory. It didn't matter what he had promised Draeph. All that mattered was keeping him to his word.

- PRG -

The doors to the bridge slid apart with a hiss, allowing Draeph to walk through and into the control center of his ship. He moved swiftly to his communications officer, his cloak swirling slightly in the breeze produced by the ventilation system.

"Contact Nirril," he said. The officer nodded briskly, and began manipulating the control panel in front of him. Draeph stared intently at the viewscreen located at the far end of the bridge as he waited for the officer to make contact. Aside from the numerous stars that were visible, a small planet was slowly coming into view, some distance away in the upper right-most corner of the screen.

"Maximum magnification." The red square appeared on the screen, surrounding the planet. The image pushed in, making the image of the planet larger. The majority of the planet was red, with green bodies of water interspersed along its surface. A bright yellow ring surrounded it, slightly off-axis.

"Sir, I'm not picking up any active comm. signals on Earth," the comm. officer stated. Draeph leaned over the console.

"Search all available bands."

"I already have, sir. I'm getting nothing." Draeph straightened, nodding once.

"Then it appears that Nirril has failed." He returned to the entryway.

_Nirril has been killed, master._

_That fool was too arrogant for his own good._

_Shall I send someone back to collect him?_

_That is not necessary. I will take care of it myself._

_Very well, master. We are approaching Onyx. We should arrive within the hour._

The voice faded, and Draeph exited the bridge, intent on getting in a brief training session before he had to brief Ryan.

- PRG -

The cops were slow to approach the corpse that lay in the middle of the street. They had gotten reports of the battle a half hour earlier, but protocols that had been set in place during the heyday of the original Power Rangers prevented them from approaching the scene until now. They had, however, created a two-block perimeter around the battlefield, to prevent any civilians from passing through and putting themselves in danger.

Now that they were free to approach, a group of four officers, sidearms drawn, approached the corpse cautiously while their colleagues remained behind in classic cover positions. As the officers got closer, an ominous wind began to pick up, swirling all around them. They looked to each other once, and collectively turned their gazes to the corpse.

A tall figure in a light blue velvet robe stood with his back to the officers, lowering himself to kneel beside the body. The officers froze where they stood, training their weapons on the figure, who had apparently appeared out of nowhere and was now extending a black-gloved hand to the corpse's chest. As the officers looked on in confusion and awe, the figure's hand became transparent, taking on the composition of the very wind that swirled around them, and plunged it into the corpse's chest.

The officers heard the faint sound of someone screaming, but couldn't place its origin. The figure stood up, pulling his hand free from the body in the process to reveal the faint outline of a body clutched in his grip. The body had the same composition as the figure's hand, and appeared to be the source of the scream. The wind picked up markedly, and the figure smirked beneath his hood.

"Your soul is mine." The figure opened his hand, releasing it into the whirlwind that now surrounded the scene. The screaming intensified as the soul flew, making a beeline for the cloaked figure after a few moments of circling him, seemingly against its will. The figure didn't flinch as the soul hit him… and promptly vanished, having been absorbed in its entirety. The figure straightened as he heard the hammers on the cops' guns being pulled back. He stretched his right arm backward, pointing with index and middle fingers.

"Shh," he said simply. The cops collapsed to the ground where they stood, fast asleep. Nodding in satisfaction, the figure disappeared in the same gale that brought him, leaving the police officers standing at their cars a few metres away staring slack-jawed, bewilderment clearly written across their faces.

- PRG -

Adam sighed, massaging the back of his neck with both hands. Everyone, minus Jason and Tommy, was seated in the small waiting room located a few metres adjacent to the nursing station. He was still seething from being talked down to by the doctor, but had regained his composure, forcing himself to stay seated. Being kicked out of the hospital wouldn't help matters. He took a sidelong glance at the clock hanging on the wall opposite him. It had been about a half hour since he had placed the call from Tommy's jeep. _He should be here any minute now_. He pushed himself to his feet, drawing the attention of everyone present.

"I'm going to head down to Emergency. Tommy and Jason knew what condition this guy was in, so chances are they'll think to meet us there," he said. Tanya started to get up, but he held up his hand, indicating for her to stop. "Stay here, Tanya. I'll be fine." She bit her bottom lip, locking eyes with him. She nodded once, relenting, and lowered herself to her seat.

Adam closed his eyes momentarily, his lips tightening into a thin line. He turned and left the room, entering one of the open elevators before it closed. He pressed the button for the lobby, smiling politely at the man with whom he shared the elevator car. _With any luck, he should be able to help us get in touch with Billy. I wonder…_ His thoughts were interrupted by the rustle of clothing in the adjacent corner of the car. He turned to the man, only to see long blade hurtling towards his head. He barely had the time to duck as it whistled over his head, piercing the side of the car.

Taking a step backward, Adam delivered a front kick to the elbow joint, turning it into a roundhouse kick to the head when his opponent's arm hit the wall panel. The blade pulled free, and his opponent stumbled backward, allowing Adam to get a good look at him. He was clad entirely in black, with a golden pentagram on his chest and a pair of arm blades. _It figures. I step away from the others for two minutes and I'm already being attacked._

Being in an elevator, there wasn't much room to maneuver. Sliding past him to dodge another blade swipe, Adam reached back, over his opponent's head, and planted his hand firmly on his chest. He pulled forward, forcing his opponent to fall backward onto his waiting kneecap. A loud crunch resounded, and the bladed figure collapsed to the ground, twitching. Reaching down, Adam gripped each side of its head and gave it a hard snap to the right, hearing the spine pop audibly.

A loud ding denoted their arrival at the lobby, and Adam straightened, smoothing out his shirt as he walked out of the elevator, the corpse of the soldier disappearing in the light of a teleportation beam behind him.

- PRG -

The sound of a comm. link being opened awoke him from his slumber. He had been asked by his crew to leave the bridge and get some rest. He had protested, as any captain would, but they outnumbered him six to one, and he was forced to comply. He had returned to his quarters, and tried to work, but sleep finally got the better of him. That was thirty minutes ago, according to the panel situated next to his bed. He groaned aloud as he answered the call.

"We're in orbit."

"Good," he replied, willing his limbs into action. "Meet me at the jump tubes."

"What about—"

"They stay here. We can't afford to leave the Megaship unprotected."

"Alright. We'll be there in five." The comm. link cut out as he snatched his jacket from the table where he had left it.

"D.E.C.A., bring the jump tubes back on-line." He threw the jacket on, covering the majority of his red shirt, and touched the control panel next to the door. It slid open, the bright lights of the hallway forcing him to cover his eyes momentarily. "I'm heading to the vault." The computer acknowledged him, and the door slid shut as he left the room, bathing his personal quarters in darkness once more.

- PRG -

_plamnus_ – latin; from _pandus_ (meaning curved) and _lamna_ (meaning blade); a knife composed of a two to three inch hilt (usually comprised of a solid piece of bone or metal) and a six to seven inch blade which circles above the hilt and curves down to a point one to two inches below the bottom of the hilt; an example of such a blade can be found in the movie "The Chronicles of Riddick" (Riddick wields two such weapons during the skirmish against the Necromongers on the surface of Crematoria); the name is my creation.

- PRG -

Part of Ryan's dialogue to Eineth came from the opening scene of the "Chronicles of Riddick". The design for Eineth Ryujin came from one of the MotD from Chousinsei Flashman (1986). The manner in which the cloaked figure takes out the cops is a callback to Christopher Walken's portrayal of the archangel Gabriel in "The Prophecy". A move similar to the one Adam performed can be seen in the action seen in the American Consulate in "The Bourne Identity".


	12. Chapter XII

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Dear lord, I let way too much time pass between updates. For that, I sincerely apologize to all of you. I hope this chapter makes up for it.

**Chapter XII**

"Adam!"

Adam turned to see a man in his early twenties approaching him as he entered the Emergency waiting room. The collar of the man's blue shirt billowed slightly in the breeze, and an almost boyish grin was plastered across his face, causing Adam to momentarily flash back almost eight years. Shaking his head slightly, his face broke into a smile, and he waved his hand in greeting. The man picked up his pace, eagerly taking Adam's proffered hand when he was close enough.

"How have you been?"

"I've been alright."

"And Tanya? And the others?"

"She's good. They're all good," he replied, smiling wistfully. His eyes moved to the man's closely cropped hair. "I see you finally changed that haircut of yours." The man chuckled, a grin still splitting his face.

"It was getting a little old. I didn't want to be typecast with it." A laugh escaped the confines of Adam's throat as he put an arm across the man's shoulder.

"That pretty well eliminates the urge to muss your hair. It loses its novelty if it isn't in the bowl." The man joined in Adam's laughter.

"It's great to see you."

"Yeah, it's been too long," Adam replied, nodding. "Thanks for coming on such short notice." The man shrugged.

"Classes can wait. This is more important." Adam nodded once.

"Come on. Everyone's waiting for us up—"

"Adam!" The exclamation, followed by the loud crash of the entryway doors being kicked open before they had the chance to open on their own, interrupted Adam and drew the attention of both men to the commotion. The shock of the sight registered on both men's faces, but quickly passed as years of mental discipline kicked into overdrive. They quickly rushed to the aid of the red Morphin' ranger, who was carrying Tommy's prone body in his arms.

"What the hell happened?" Adam asked, worry apparent in his voice as he looked Tommy over.

"It's a long story," Jason replied, giving the man in blue a nod of recognition as he gently lay Tommy on the floor. "One that can wait. Right now, we need to get help." The three Dino Thunder teens ran into the building breathlessly, not bothering to ask why the doors were struggling to close, motors running labouredly. Not asking didn't stop Conner from doing a double-take, though, prompting Ethan to run back a few steps and drag the red ranger away.

A large explosion rocked the parking lot, sending everyone inside scrambling for cover as the windows that lined the outer wall shattered from the shockwave. The three teens, unprepared for the force of the wave, lost their balance and fell heavily to the floor. The three men shielding Tommy's body felt the shards from the doors impact their bodies, but ignored them, focusing on keeping Tommy under cover. A bright teleportation beam shimmered in the entryway as six pairs of eyes turned to the source of the explosion.

Where there had previously been nothing, now stood a few dozen virebots, swarming the entryway. The one leading the virebots stepped into view moments later. A full suit of silver body armor, tinged with bronze and light blue, covered the man from head to toe. His helmet consisted of a light blue visor, with a red jewel surrounded by bronze and silver protrusions extending three on each side and one at the top.

"In a few minutes, you'll be the ones needing help, not him," he said, his arms crossed across his chest. The men crouching over Tommy exchanged glances.

"Ideas?"

"Not any you're going to like, Jason," Adam replied. The man in blue clicked his tongue and nodded.

"You need a distraction. I'm going to give you one. While I keep this guy occupied, get Tommy the help he needs." Adam shook his head furiously.

"No. You're powerless. You can't hope to—"

"Don't worry about me," the man said, raising a fist that seemed to pulse with a faint blue glow. "I've got it covered." He pushed himself to his feet and took a couple steps towards the newcomers.

"You got a name, or should I just call you tall, dark and ugly?" The armored man's arms lowered to his sides.

"I am called Kurnon. And you?" The man in blue smirked and shrugged.

"Me? I'm the guy who'll be kicking your ass today." He raised his right arm in front of him. In a flash of azure light, a rectangular object appeared on his wrist. A Turbo morpher. "But my friends call me Justin."

- PRG -

The workbay was bathed in darkness when he got there, which was normal when an area of the ship wasn't in use. Normal except for the fact that he had instructed D.E.C.A. to bring the jump tubes on-line, which should have illuminated the room automatically prior to his arrival. He entered the room cautiously, heading in the general direction of the diagnostic panel situated next to the row of lockers on the far wall. As he walked, he detected a faint shimmering on the fringe of his peripheral vision. _Someone's here_. Reaching the panel, he began to manipulate the controls with his left hand, swiftly making his way through the diagnostic menus to determine the problem.

One of the lockers to his right swung open soundlessly.

His eyes narrowed as they took in the readouts being displayed on the rectangular screen. _Everything seems to be functioning nominally. Then what…_ The faint sound of a booted heel on the deck plating broke through his train of thought, causing him to instinctively survey the room from the corners of his eyes. _No time to worry about that now._

A long, metallic object floated free from the locker and slid into his waiting hand..

His right hand closed around the object as his left dropped to his side. He let his head tilt slightly, feeling the cold metal touch his bare palm. _I have to time this just right._

"D.E.C.A., lights!" he exclaimed, whirling as he brought the Spiral Sabre in his hand across in a downward slash towards the assailant. The lights overhead flashed to life, giving him a good look at the intruder as his blade whistled through the air. His hazel eyes widened as realization struck him, and he tried to prevent the potential killing blow. An outside observer would've realized it was futile, as the leading edge was already beginning its descent. He came to that realization almost as quickly. Time seemed to slow down to an almost painfully andante tempo as the blade cut through the air.

He was jolted by the sudden resistance to the blow, as a black gauntleted hand caught it, just below the point where the blade met the hilt.

"It's nice to see you again too, Andros," the intruder said, bringing his other hand up to the blade. "You mind—" he pushed the blade to the side, "—not doing that again?" Andros let out a sigh of relief, twirling his weapon in-hand as he lowered it to his side, so that the blade was pointing upward.

"I didn't realize sneaking aboard ship was part of your job description, Phantom." The Phantom Ranger's featureless helmet didn't betray anything, but a soft chuckle escaped its confines.

"Desperate times, my friend. It was a necessary precaution." Andros nodded once.

"How exactly did you manage to dock without our sensors detecting your ship?" he asked. Phantom shrugged.

"While I was making my approach, I opened a remote connection to D.E.C.A. She agreed to mask my presence until I had a chance to speak with you." Andros' chin tilted upward.

"Is this true, D.E.C.A.?"

"Yes, Andros," the computer's feminine voice replied.

"Funny, I didn't think you were as bad as your older sister was," Andros said, chuckling in reference to the Mark I's computer of the same name and design.

"I instructed D.E.C.A. to keep my docking secret for a reason." Andros crossed his arms across his chest.

"I take it you're here for the same reason we are?" Phantom nodded.

"I received word of the situation. It is imperative that I speak with Tommy."

"Zhane and I were about to head down to Earth to rendezvous with our contact. You can—"

"No," Phantom interrupted. "Only you and I can go. No one else." Andros' eyes narrowed.

"Why? Do you not trust him? He's my best friend. I can vouch for—"

"That is not the issue. I trust your judgment, but the fewer who become aware of the knowledge I possess, the better."

"What knowledge?"

"I know the location of Akine's Blade."

- PRG -

"You three, come here now." The Dino teens were startled by Justin's sudden command.

"What makes you think you can order us around?" Conner asked, his voice gilded with irritation. Justin, his face deadly serious, snapped his head backward, locking eyes with the red ranger.

"Look, kid, I was defending this planet while you were still learning your times tables, so when I tell you to do something, you damn well better do it." Conner's jaw dropped in startled amazement as Ethan and Kira flanked him on either side, speechless. Kurnon, who had observed the exchange, chuckled in apparent amusement.

"Division in the ranks already?" he asked lightly. Justin's gaze whipped back to Kurnon.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he retorted, a smirk touching the corner of his mouth. He let out a breath and addressed the teens. "Look, just take care of those foot soldiers and stay out of my way. The big bruiser is mine."

"'Big bruiser'. That a technical term?" Ethan asked quizzically. Kira elbowed the blue ranger in the ribs.

"Fight now, bad jokes later," she retorted, as Ethan rubbed his side gingerly. Justin groaned inwardly and turned his head back to them.

"Damn it, I thought I said—" He was unable to finish, as he was flung a handful of metres backward by a well-placed beam of energy originating from Kurnon's palm, spasming slightly when he hit the ground. Justin's hands went instinctively to his chest, as he rolled to his knees. He tilted his head down and spat, noting the blood mixed in with his saliva. With a grunt, he stood upright, wiping the blood from his mouth with the side of his right hand. His gaze locked on Kurnon, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I got tired of waiting," he said simply.

"Alright, you just pissed me off," Justin replied. Allowing his arms fall to his sides, he took off like a shot, running full out at Kurnon. When he was roughly three metres away, he planted both feet and leapt forward, flicking his left hand backward as he performed a front flip. A silver key slid easily into his hand, still connected to the thong attached to his left forearm. He thrust the key into the ignition port of his morpher as he did a half-twist in mid-air.

"Shift into Turbo!" The all-too familiar flash of azure light swept out from the morpher, enveloping him as he began his descent. The armor formed around his body as quick as he remembered. _It feels strange not shooting up a foot and a half,_ he said to himself, inwardly chuckling in amusement. As soon as his booted feet touched down on the ground, he whirled towards Kurnon and buried a fist in his chest as the silver-armored being turned to face the blue ranger.

"How's it feel, bub?" Moving his left arm, Kurnon gripped the arm Justin had used to punch him by the wrist.

"Not nearly as painful as you seem to think it was." A strong uppercut caught Justin at the base of the helmet, sending him hurtling backward once more. As the blue ranger flipped in mid-air to land on his feet, Kurnon yelled out, "Attack!" With that exclamation, all hell broke loose.

A high pitched, piercing scream erupted from Kira's throat, taking out a handful of virebots as they began to stream forward, moving not only towards the rangers, but towards the innocents who were still huddled together on the ground, unable to move due to the fear that was overwhelming them.

A subtle flash of blue light permeated the skin of Ethan's forearms as intricate scale-work appeared, running from just below the elbow to the middle of the hand. His movements came instinctively, but with certainty and fluidity. His arms clashed heavily against the limbs of the virebots, blocking punches and kicks from all directions as they surrounded him, leaving only a small sphere of space to allow their blows to strike home. He blocked a punch with his left arm and delivered a punch of his own to the virebot, strongly bringing his right back across, striking another with the backhanded blow.

Conner was naught but a blur as he weaved in and out of the crowd of foot soldiers, using his gem powers to his advantage, striking and dodging blows effortlessly. He was relying pretty heavily on his feet, stemming from his soccer background, but he did manage to land the odd punch when the opportunity presented itself.

Justin had landed in a crouch from the blow, his arms extended forward with his gloved-hands lying flat, palm down against the floor. Using all four limbs, he launched himself forward, in a slowly climbing arc, working quicker than his mind was. _This had better work_.

- PRG -

"You're going to have to do better than that, Phantom. What the hell is 'Akine's Blade'?"

"I imagine that you were briefed regarding the nature of the armor?" Phantom asked.

"My contact was unwilling to go into detail over a potentially unsecured comm. channel, so I got the bare-bones version. Care to fill me in?"

"As you may or may not know, after the final retrieval of all six pieces of the armor, Os-worim decided to scatter the pieces throughout the universe, among allied worlds. One went to Inquiris; another to Aquitar. A third was sent to Triforia, to be placed under the care of the Triforian royal family. Another was sent to your home system of Kerova, and placed on one of its far-distant moons. The shield remained on Eltare, in the care of Kelt, the original Green Ranger. And the sword…that was sent to the planet Mirinoi."

"The Mirinites are a bit of an oddity in the universe, as they appear to have a stronger than normal connection to the Morphing Grid. It is this strength of connection that convinced Os-worim to send the blade there; because of that deep connection, one of their people would not need a physical channeling device to be able to wield it."

"The sword was accompanied by a messenger who was provided strict instructions by Os-worim. There were seven primary clans that shared the lands of the larger of two continents on the planet's surface. A tournament was held among chieftain's sons, to determine which clan would be charged with the weapon's protection. Isri of the Cucinan clan was declared the victor of that tournament, and the matter was settled."

"The history banks that I have access to grow a little bit…inaccurate with events taking place in that region of space after the tournament. I was able to determine a few things, though. It was this blade that inspired and aided in the forging of the Quasar Sabers; it was—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Andros interrupted, raising his hand. "The origin of the Quasar Sabers was never determined. They just _appeared_ roughly 3000 years ago."

"Just because the Yellow Galaxy ranger's tribe only discovered them at that time, doesn't mean they didn't exist prior to that." There was a pause. "Now, as I was saying: it was wielded in the defense of the planet successfully for many years; and at some point during Isri's lifetime…it disappeared. Without a trace." Andros scoffed.

"I've been around the universe enough to know that something that powerful doesn't just 'disappear'. It must have been hidden."

"All I know for certain is that it reappeared roughly 60, 000 years ago, in the hands of a general named Akine. His homeworld was in the M51 galaxy. He somehow managed to acquire the weapon, and used it in the defense of the galaxy from Master Vile's invasion force. How he was able to use it, I'm not entirely sure, but it's obvious that he had a connection to the Grid. There were rangers active during that era, so it isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility."

"It was while being wielded by Akine that the blade gained its more well-known legend. Towards the end of the invasion, the general was seemingly holding back Vile's forces on his own, with no real support or reinforcements to speak of." Andros seemed as though he was about to interject when the door to the workbay whirred to life. As soon as the sound reached the two, Phantom engaged his cloaking device and faded from view, blending in perfectly with the surrounding area.

Andros turned to the doorway to see Zhane approaching him swiftly. He hadn't changed much in the seven or so years since the Alliance's attempted universe-wide invasion; not appearance-wise, anyway.

"Should I be worried?" he asked lightly, gesturing to the Sabre in his friend's hand. Andros smiled slightly and quickly clipped his weapon to his belt.

"I don't need a weapon to beat on you, you know that," he replied. Zhane chuckled.

"Ready to go?" Andros let out a breath.

"There's been a change of plans. Tommy contacted me a few moments ago. He wants me to go down to the surface alone." Zhane cocked an eyebrow.

"That's unusual, isn't it?"

"Maybe, but you know it isn't that uncommon for orders to change at the last minute. Our time with the resistance back home should have told you that." Zhane crossed his arms across his chest.

"Why didn't we pick up on the communication?" Andros shrugged.

"Not sure; could be a problem in the communications array. Run a diagnostic on it while I'm down there and let me know the results when I get back." Zhane nodded slightly, and brought his right arm up, tapping forearms with Andros.

"Stay safe," he said, as the red ranger climbed the steps to the jump tube platform. The bars of light above the tubes were all dark, save for the red light above Andros' own tube, third from the left.

"Always do," he replied, turning to the control panel to the left side of the first tube. Zhane turned and left the workbay as Andros began to manipulate the panel, setting his transport coordinates. Just beneath the sound of the door closing, a faint hum sounded behind him, indicating that Phantom Ranger had disengaged his cloak, and now stood beside him, completely visible. "I don't like lying to him, Phantom. To any of them."

"I know, Andros, but it's for the good of the mission," Phantom replied somberly. Andros' fingers paused.

"They'd want to see you."

"The mission is more important." Andros turned, locking his eyes on Phantom's helmet.

"She misses you."

Silence followed the last statement. Andros sighed and walked in front of his tube, thrusting his left arm forward, turning and swinging into the tube. Phantom took steps to the same tube, turning his head to gaze at the workbay door, which now stood closed.

"I miss her too…" he replied softly, jumping into the tube to follow the red ranger.

- PRG -

My eyes opened to a familiar sight. The dreamscape. _Looks like I'm still unconscious._

"Indeed you are, Tommy." I turned to see Sam standing before me, looking the same as he did when he had appeared to me the previous time.

"I hope you didn't bring me here to chat about the weather, Sam. We don't have the time."

"I wholeheartedly agree. There is a reason for why I'm speaking with you again. The 'cavalry', as some so eloquently put it, has arrived." With a wave of his hand, an opaque white cloud appeared before us. On its surface, in split-screen format, were the images of two ships, both in orbit of Earth. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I recognized the first.

"Andros and the Astro rangers," I stated confidently, as I looked upon the image of the Astro Megaship Mark II. "They're right on time." I turned my gaze to the second ship. "…but I don't recognize that one."

"I am unaware of who specifically is piloting the second ship, but I do know that he is an ally."

"That's all that matters. We need all the help we can get."

"There is one more thing, Tommy." I inwardly groaned.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?"

"I know what you plan on doing with your brother," he stated simply, gesturing towards my pocket. "I must ask that you reconsider."

"I've exhausted all my other options, Sam. There's nobody else. I need somebody I can trust to do this. David's the only one who fits the bill."

"Tommy…if David is brought into this situation, he will die." My eyes narrowed as the impact of the statement hit me full-on. I took a step towards him.

"How can you know?"

"I am privy to certain information."

"No. I don't believe it. I won't. Fate isn't written in stone. Destinies can change."

"Whether that is the case or not, you mustn't take that chance. I know there is another who can be called upon, if you wait long enough." I sighed, crossing my arms across my chest as I appraised Sam. His face betrayed nothing; no emotion, but I could tell that he believed what he was saying. I just had to hope that he had been misinformed.

"Alright, but I can't wait forever. If push comes to shove, I'm going to do what I think is best; your information be damned."

- PRG -

The force with which the monk was thrown into the door caused the wood to splinter forcefully upon impact. The monk rolled when he hit the ground, kicking up dust as his body moved across the earth. He finally came to rest a handful of metres from the monastery's front entryway, moaning in agony as pain coursed through his right arm. He pushed himself wearily to his feet, holding his now-useless appendage close to his chest. Through vision blurred from the dust in his eyes, he could faintly make out something moving towards the open air from inside the monastery. As it came closer, part of the form came into focus. A pair of lights. One green, one pink. A cold shiver ran down the monk's spine.

"Zordon help us all," he whispered. "He has it."

Reaching a trembling hand to his throat, he pulled a pendant from around his neck. Passed down for generations, the pendant was a symbol of the ancestry of his order, both literally and figuratively. Shaped in the form of a gold lightning bolt, they were only given to the highest ranks of his order…or those whose tasks were more specialized. The pendant itself was approximately the length of the monk's index finger, an inch thick with beveled edges.

Moving his thumb to the near-invisible seam which split the pendant evenly down the middle, he flipped open the two halves to reveal a metal plate, roughly the width of his thumb. Stealing a fearful glance towards the monastery, he saw that the intruder was a few footsteps away from the entryway. He quickly put his thumb to the plate. A soft hum erupted as hidden machinery whirred to life, verifying his thumbprint. After a few moments, the two halves of the plate opened to ninety degree angles and recessed into the depths of the pendant, revealing a small, circular depression. A thin bar ran the diameter, currently facing north-south. He moved his fingers to it. His fingertips had just barely brushed it when a voice startled him to inaction.

"If you turn that, I guarantee it'll be the last thing you ever do." The monk looked up to see the intruder standing before him, fully armored.

"You'll kill me even if I don't."

"Don't be so sure. I'm a reasonable man. I already have what I came for. I have no qualms with leaving now; with leaving you with your life. Just move your hand away…and give me the pendant." The monk's jaw began to shake subtly as he contemplated his options.

"No deal." He turned the bar ninety degrees. It clicked into place with no resistance and began to glow a deep scarlet. A sigh came from behind the intruder's helmet.

"You don't leave me much choice," he said, drawing the dagger hanging from his hip. The monk merely nodded.

"You must do what you must, of course; as I did." The monk snapped the pendant closed. "Allow me one prayer?" The intruder nodded curtly, bringing the dagger to his mouthpiece.

"I'll do you one better. It'll be painless. You have my word." He began to play a slow, haunting melody as the monk nodded his thanks, closing his eyes. With each note, the blade began to glow a bright, piercing emerald. The melody faded as the monk opened his eyes; the blade kept a solid jade glow.

"I am ready," the monk stated.

"You have courage. You served your order well, but know this: I won't be denied. I'm going to finish what I started, and I'm going to get back what was promised to me." The intruder thrust forward swiftly, puncturing the monk's heart cleanly in one fell stroke. The monk crumpled to the ground, lifeless, as the dagger was sheathed. Using the tip of his boot, the intruder jerked the chain holding the pendant, snapping it cleanly. He brought the heel of his boot down hard on the pendant, feeling it crunch underfoot. _Fuck_.

- PRG -

The bright light dissipated as the man rematerialized on the street, a block away from Angel Grove Memorial Hospital. He let out a sigh of relief as recognition washed across his vision. _Looks like the third time was the charm_. He dashed forward, cutting across the street giving no heed to the cars that were rushing by before him. The device on his wrist flashed brilliant silver; the man smirked as everything in his immediate vicinity slowed down to a crawl, allowing him to weave easily in and out of the traffic.

A large explosion blasted out as he got to the other side of the street, startling him. He attempted to halt his forward momentum, but failed miserably as his shoes could gain no purchase; his feet skidded as fell backward, landing painfully on his rear. He groaned aloud and rubbed his backside as he pushed himself shakily to his feet. _Talk about a pain in the ass_. He moved forward cautiously, planting his back against the side of the building so that he may peer around the corner. He caught a fleeting glimpse of black forms entering the building, and then nothing. The area was empty, except for sounds of a commotion from the building's interior. A flash of sapphire light shone through the building's now-barren window frames. _Well, that's my cue_. Ensuring the device on his wrist was firmly attached, he took off in a sprint, fluidly turning the corner and reaching the doorway in moments.

He brought his arm up, preparing to call out his activation code…and froze, his jaw dropping in mid-thought. His brain struggled to process the sight of the people before him, fighting foot soldiers he had never seen, yet recognized from his mission briefing; people whom he had heard of, but never dreamed of having the opportunity to meet. His gaze swept across them all as he stood framed in the entryway, unnoticed to the battle's participants. It settled upon a pair of men carrying an unconscious form towards an adjacent door. He paled as he caught a glimpse of the man's face. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. _You have __**got**__ to be shitting me_.

A form in blue armor had leapt forward, flipping over the one in silver. White gloves with a black lining reached down to grab the base of the helmet as he soared over head. He landed nimbly on his feet, his arms overhead and still gripping the helmet's base. He brought his arms down hard, causing the helmet to impact his shoulder; he delivered a straight back kick to his opponent's lower back as he met the newcomer's gaze, sending the silver-armored form rolling backward.

"And just who the hell are you?"


	13. Chapter XIII

DISCLAIMER: Insert standard disclaimer here, regarding Saban, Disney, and everyone else whom I am not ripping off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow. I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to get a new chapter out, and I want to thank everyone who's stuck with me this long. I really appreciate it. Anywho, I've thrown some surprises at you in this chapter, so enjoy them, because the craziness just gets worse from now on.

**Chapter XIII**

Twin streaks of light, one red and one black, shot down from the sky, impacting the grassy earth and dissipating, revealing the forms of Andros and the Phantom Ranger. They glanced around at their surroundings, the campus of Angel Grove High School, looking for the monument that Tommy had chosen as their rendezvous coordinates. Spotting it, Andros motioned to Phantom with his head, and they jogged over to it.

The monument was nothing especially fancy. It depicted the principal who had presided over the school during the many years of alien attacks, Gerald Caplan, standing tall and steadfast, symbolically against the onslaught of the numerous battles and evacuations. At its base, chiseled into the stone block that supported the rest of the sculpture, was a quote reading _'Fall seven times, stand up eight'_. The two men looked around. There was no sign of the Angel Grove High alum. Andros' brow furrowed.

"Something must have happened. Tommy isn't the kind of man to be late to a meeting this important, especially when he's the one who called it." A dry chuckle escaped from Phantom's helmet.

"You wouldn't be saying that if this were eight years ago." Andros' eyebrow rose a few millimetres.

"I don't follow."

"It's not important; a story that can be told some other time. Contact the others." Phantom engaged his cloak as Andros brought his left forearm in front of him and keyed a control, bringing forth the deep chime that resounded when a comm. channel was opened.

"Zhane, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, buddy."

"Any signs of life?" A pause ensued.

"Not anywhere near you." Andros nodded once.

"I thought as much. Patch me into the civilian communications network."

- PRG -

The closed blinds lining the window of the hospital room obscured the bright sunlight trying in vain to stream through; leaving the room blanketed for the most part in darkness, save for thin strips of light that had managed to sneak their way past. The room was silent except for the dull, mechanical sound of the respirator stationed next to the bed. The machine worked like clockwork, forcing air in and out of the patient's lungs at regular intervals. It was the patient, however, who was the most intriguing to Demon Hunter, who stood motionless in the corner, a few inches from the respirator.

The patient was a black man n his mid-to-late twenties. He had been admitted toe the hospital earlier that afternoon with severe injuries. The most notable, albeit least serious, was a long gash across the right side of his face, just beneath the eye. Demon Hunter eyed him thoughtfully.

_His link to the power has been compromised._ His thoughts went immediately to the transformation device that now resided safely in the storage compartment on his hip. _I do not have the means to repair it. I must sever the link, or he will die._ He withdrew the object from his hip. The man in the bed groaned audibly when it left the compartment.

The device was mangled practically beyond recognition. The only part that was salvageable was the emerald embedded in its centre. Demon Hunter held the object in his left palm and brought his right hand towards it, index finger extended. Concentrating, he focused a thin beam of energy into his finger and projected it, cutting into the material easily. After a few moments, he cut the flow of energy, reached forward and removed the crystal from its place. The man in the bed began to thrash wildly; the monitoring equipment began to go crazy as his vitals went through the roof. Blood pressure, pulse, oxygen levels…all well above normal. All well above the levels they had been at mere moments before. Demon Hunter took a steadying breath. _It appears my hand is being forced._

He took a step closer to the bed, his tall form casting a long shadow across the patient's still-flailing body. Holding the jewel tightly, he brought his right hand forward, placing it palm-down against the man's chest, pressing it firmly against the pale pink skin there. A bright blue glow shone underneath his down-turned hand, escaping its confines on all sides. The glow persisted for a few moments before fading as he removed his hand. The gem was gone. The man's thrashings ceased abruptly, and he was now breathing easily, colour slowly returning to skin that had taken on an almost ashen pallor.

_I cannot hope to stop Draeph on my own. I require aid._ He moved to the window and lifted it, allowing the breeze from outside to penetrate the confines of the hospital room. _Without his power, he can be of no use to me. I shall have to find another._ He gripped the each side of the window frame with his gauntleted hands and flung himself out, leaving the man in the bed alone, the sound of fluttering drapes the only evidence that anyone else had been there.

- PRG -

The bridge of the _Yavneh_ was lit brightly as its captain entered from a lift at the upper left-hand corner. Tactical, operations, engineering and science stations were all located in a broad-sweeping semi-circle lining the back of the bridge. A single bridge officer was stationed at each. At the front of the bridge, an ensign operated the helm controls expertly, keeping her attention focused intently on the viewscreen in front of her. The captain gave a brief smile and pat on the arm to the operations officer before covering the brief distance between him and his chair. He lowered himself into it, settling in as his first officer swiveled in his own and turned to address him.

"We've arrived at the planet, captain." The captain nodded once in satisfaction.

"Good," he replied. "Ensign, enter a synchronous orbit above the African continent." The ensign at the con spun in her chair and looked at him incredulously.

"The African continent? I thought you said the rendezvous was taking place in a city on the western coast of the North American continent." The captain chuckled softly.

"It is, all in due time. I just have to pick up an old friend first."

- PRG -

Andros flipped his morpher shut, cursing inwardly. _Damn. Nothing but voice mail. Of all the times for him not to pick up his phone._

A faint rustle of leaves sounded softly a few metres behind him, but he paid it no mind as he turned back to Phantom, who shimmered back into view.

"Should I take that as a failure?" Phantom asked, his voice light with amusement. Andros sent him a scathing look, the smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth implying that the look was one of jest.

"Failure's such a harsh word. I prefer the term 'bad luck'." A loud, echoing laugh caused Andros to whirl into a defensive posture, breaking up the exchange.

"Bad luck, is it? Is that how you explained your sister's disappearance to your father?" Andros' blood ran cold. _It can't be. He's been dead for years._

"Dead, but not forgotten," the voice responded, in a sing-song voice laced with poison. Andros' head whipped to and fro, trying to pinpoint the voice's point of origin. The laughter returned, in the form of a dry, smug chuckle. "Don't bother trying to find me, Red Ranger. The harder you look, the more you'll find that I'm quite out of reach." Andros' fists clenched.

"You're dead, you son of a bitch." His voice was soft and firm. "Leave me be."

"As if that ever stopped me. You should know better than that, my dear Karovian. After all, you killed me a handful of times yourself."

"Damn it, I said leave me be!" At the touch of a hand gripping his shoulder, Andros spun and cocked his fist, only to stop himself as he stared into the recesses of Phantom's helmet.

"Are you alright, Andros?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. Andros' eyes darted back and forth, a wild expression permeating his gaze.

"I can't tell where his voice is coming from. Do you see him anywhere?"

"See who? Who are you talking to?" Andros broke away, moving in short, faltering steps as he continued to search for a voice that, to Phantom, wasn't there.

"I fear your ally thinks you have gone quite mad, but you and I both know that you're perfectly sane. Don't we?" The voice's gleeful statement seemed to encourage further deterioration in the Red Ranger's demeanor.

"When I find you, I swear to whatever gods can hear me that I _will_ kill you, and this time you're going to stay dead!" Andros' voice and actions were taking on more and more erratic attributes as each second passed.

Phantom continued to observe his friend's actions for a few moments more before resolving to take action. _I have no choice. I must reveal myself to the others_. He sighed slightly before opening a comm. channel. "Phantom Ranger to the Astro Megaship."

"Phantom?" The voice, full of shock and surprise, was that of Cassie Chan. Phantom's breath caught in his throat as he swallowed hard, trying to get past the lump that had sprung up to obstruct his vocal chords. His mouth was barren. He couldn't speak. A rustle came from the other end of the channel, and a new voice took over the transmission.

"Phantom, is that you?" Phantom let out a silent thank you to the Megaship's first officer as the block subsided.

"Yes, it's me, T.J.," he replied quickly, glancing over at Andros. The Karovian had stopped moving, and was merely shouting into the open air. "I need you to teleport myself and Andros directly to sickbay."

"Why? What's happened?"

"It's a long story. I'll explain once we're aboard."

"Alright. Teleporting now," came the curt reply, just prior to Phantom's vision dissolving into a haze of transparent black light.

- PRG -

Jason slumped down into a chair adjacent to Zack, letting out a soft sigh of relief. As Adam stood at the nearby nursing station speaking with a doctor, the other four former rangers and Hayley crowded around Jason and Zack.

"How's he doing?" Kimberly asked softly. Jason swallowed hard, his jaw tightening briefly before he answered.

"He wasn't looking so hot. I've fought a lot of battles alongside him. More than most of you have…and I've never seen him like this." Kat hugged her sides tightly.

"I knew we shouldn't have left you to face them on your own," she said softly. Tanya placed a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"There's no way we could have known they would have been overrun." Jason shook his head strongly as he turned to face the Yellow Zeo ranger.

"We weren't overrun. He collapsed _after_ the fight. I'm not sure why." Hayley took a step forward.

"I think I might have a theory on that." All eyes in the waiting room turned to her. "Jason, according to what I learned of your history from Tommy, your body rejected a source of ranger power once, did it not?"

"Yeah, that's right. The Golden power. It damn near killed me when I tried to give it back to Trey."

"Well, in a sense my theory explains this in a similar way. In a word, he's suffering from withdrawal." The side of Rocky's face tightened in confusion.

"I don't get it."

"Let me try to explain," Hayley replied, smiling indulgently. "From what I understand of the interactions between human physiology and sources of power that augment a person's abilities to a superhero-like level, only one type of power can be held at once, or the two sources will conflict and short each other out. This is why when you changed powers, from your power coins to zeonizers, for example, you had to have your link to the previous power source severed before the transfer could take place."

"This is all fascinating," Zack said with a chuckle, "but I still don't see how this explains why Tommy collapsed the way he did."

"If you would be patient, you'd see that I was getting to that. Tommy's link to the Dragonzord coin was never severed. The power simply ran out, and when the time came for him to take on the powers of the White ranger, that link to the Green power had been diminished to the point of nonexistence, because there was no power for it to refer to. When the Wizard of Deception created the tainted copy of the coin, two links were established. A traditional link between the coin and Tom, and a feedback link that connected to the small flicker of Green power still in Tommy's body. With every subsequent morph using the tainted coin, Tommy feels a feedback surge of negative energy." Adam rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully.

"As I recall, the cl—er, Tom—morphed during that fight. Why didn't Tommy show any effects like this back then?"

"If my theory is correct, being morphed counteracts the effects of the feedback surge. His Zeo sub-crystal acts as a shield, protecting him. But…there's a catch." Kimberly's lips tightened into a thin line.

"What kind of catch?" she asked tentatively.

"If I'm right, it means that a fair portion of the crystal's energy is being used to maintain its shield of Tommy's nervous system. Because of this, it's functioning at a lower output level than normal." Jason's jawline remained unmoving as his brow furrowed.

"Do you think you could explain that in English for those of us who aren't as technologically inclined as you?" Hayley chuckled softly and nodded apologetically.

"Of course, I'm sorry. In Layman's terms, it means that more energy that's required to maintain the shield, the more his powers in his ranger form degrade. Eventually, if things continue the way they seem to be, all of the crystal's energy will be used to keep up the shield…until it isn't strong enough. If that happens, Tommy dies." A sickly silence wafted down over the assembled group at the prospect of the end result of Hayley's theory. "That's why we need to find a way to sever that link…before it's too late."

"I concur." The statement came from a new voice, familiar in its timbre, bringing with it gasps of shock and surprise from the group. Jason turned in his chair in the direction of the new voice, a wide grin flashing across his features as he recognized the pair of figures standing a few metres away, at the room's doorway. One man and one woman.

The woman bore a light, cocoa-brown complexion and dark curly hair extending down to the middle of her neck. She wore deep yellow halter top with white spots along its surface, tied off at the neck, along with a pair of dark-washed blue jeans. A familiar pair of items on her belt and wrist respectively reflected the overhead lights off their polished surfaces.

The man, fair in skin tone with short blond-streaked hair, was dressed simply in a pair of blue jeans and a dark navy shirt. A white hooded sweatshirt wrapped tightly around his waist covered his belt buckle, but an object on his wrist, identical to the woman's save for the blue streak of colour on its band in contrast to her yellow streak, glinted lightly in the fluorescent light of the ceiling bulbs.

Aisha…

…and Billy.

- PRG -

"What the hell happened?"

The group of Astro Rangers, Karone and Phantom Ranger were all gathered in the Megaship's sickbay. Zhane and Carlos were trying in vain to keep Andros restrained on one of the biobeds. The Red ranger was thrashing wildly, yelling out incoherent blurbs of speech, much as he had done while they had been on the surface. Cassie stood near the bed, taking biometric readings with the small instrument in her hand while stealing glances at Phantom every so often. Ashley and Karone stood idly near the entrance to the room, talking in hushed tones, their worried gazes never leaving the Karovan's writhing form. This left the ship's first officer standing with Phantom off to the side near the primary medical terminal. Phantom gave an exasperated sigh at the Blue ranger's question.

"Your guess is as good as mine. He was acting normally when we first arrived on the surface. He tried getting a hold of Tommy, and after that everything went all to hell." T.J. tapped his fingers lightly against the desk.

"Do you have any idea what could have prompted this? Did anything out of the ordinary happen on Earth?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The only thing I remember that struck me as odd was that he was referring to the owner of the voice as being already dead." T.J.'s brow furrowed as he groaned.

"This isn't good, Phantom. These could be stress-induced hallucinations, and they're coming at a time when we can't afford to lose Andros. He knew more about the situation than anyone onboard."

"I imagine he did. At least until I came aboard." T.J. raised an eyebrow slowly, waiting for his friend and ally to explain. "I'll explain shortly. I'm going to prepare a briefing for you six to fill you in on what's been going on. It might be best to place Andros in restraints and sedate him until we discover what type of illness, if any, has befallen him. Once that's done, bring the others and meet me in the briefing room in a half hour." Phantom turned and exited the room without saying another word. Cassie watched him leave, feeling slightly hurt. She put down the instrument on a nearby table and walked towards T.J., who had just turned back to refocus his attention on his still-thrashing captain.

"Did he—" she began to ask, only to be interrupted by a brief shake of the first officer's head. She lowered her eyes, frowning. T.J. placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Cass. He'll talk to you when he's ready."

"I hope so…"

- PRG -

A ghost of a smile crept up on Draeph's mouth as the sound of Ryan's boots clapping on the hard deck plating flitted to his ears. He rose from his meditative crouch and turned to face the Green ranger. His appearance had changed subtly from his acquisition of the second piece of the armor. His left arm, which had once been bare save for the golden band wrapped around his bicep, was now covered with said piece of armor.

The greave was of a rich golden hue, the same as the Dragon Shield was. It covered the length of his forearm, entwining with his suit in an almost organic way. The underside was secured with three strips of gold roughly an inch and a half thick, with no visible seam or way of removing it. A series of minute etchings along its surface provided a stark contrast with their deep ebony script, scrawling solemnly along the edge. A small diamond-shaped area, clear of any like etchings, was located at the top of the piece, just below the elbow. Similar to the ranger's shield, a small symbol was located at each corner of the diamond. The armlet jutted to a point just past the elbow, while extending in the other direction to the middle of the wrist, meeting in the shape of a stylized V partway into the gauntlet.

"Well done, Ryan," Draeph said, watching as the Dragon-powered ranger reached up, unfastened the clasps on either side of his helmet, and exposed his face to the open air of the chamber. The onyx-skinned warrior approached the human with an unmistakable look of curiosity, appraising the ranger's left arm.

"Congratulations. You've taken another step towards achieving our goal." He hovered his hand over the armor, feeling its energy aura. "You now control the power of the wind." Ryan cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did I not inform you? According to the research my subordinates have performed, four out of the six pieces control one of the four primary elemental forces in the universe: earth, air, fire and water." Draeph gestured towards the newly-acquired piece. "This piece belonged to the Ptera ranger, as is evidenced by the symbols at each point of the diamond. She held dominion over the power of air." Ryan met the warrior's gaze, bringing his arm up in a short arc. The faint sound of wind whistling could be heard as a long, thick stream of fog followed the path his arm had taken. The human raised an eyebrow in surprise at his newly-discovered power.

"So I've noticed…"

- PRG -

"Alright, you have some explaining to do," Justin said, walking forward to confront the newcomer whilst demorphing in a flash of light. The two of them, along with the Dino teens, had been able to clean up the majority of the virebots in the lobby prior to Kurnon's sudden retreat at the silver-armored form's arrival. They had gotten lucky. Few civilian injuries had occurred while Adam had ushered them further into the hospital, and there had been no casualties. Justin stood a couple feet away from him, his arms crossed across his chest as he looked the warrior over critically.

"I'll explain soon, you have my word, but first I need to find someone. He was carried out of the lobby just before the fighting broke out." The Dino teens approached slowly.

"Who?" Ethan asked. The warrior demorphed, leaving in his place a young man in his early twenties.

"His name's Tommy Oliver." Conner and Kira exchanged a look as Justin narrowed his eyes.

"I have no idea who you're talking about," he replied, feigning ignorance. The man chuckled softly.

"Nice try, but I don't buy it, Stewart." Justin's mouth opened in surprise.

"Say what?" he blurted out.

"What, would you prefer I called you Justin?" Justin shook his head slightly and moved forward.

"That's it. I want some answers, and I want them now. How the hell do you know who I am? I've never seen you before in my life." The man nodded once, slowly.

"That's very true. You haven't yet." The Blue ranger looked confused for a moment…then groaned aloud.

"_Another_ time traveler? Damn it, I'm sick of you people. The last time I ran into one of you, it cost me any chance of a relationship I may have had with my girlfriend."

"I know. I'm sorry about what happened with Beth."

"You're _sorry?_" Justin cried incredulously. The man nodded. A low growl escaped from Justin's throat as he lunged forward, with the intent of grasping a handful of the shirt in front of him. The man sighed as the morpher on his wrist flashed. In a split second, Justin was on his knees, grunting in pain at the feel of his arm being torqued backward…by the man who had been standing in front of him milliseconds before.

"Yes, I know, but it wasn't me. I just know your history." Justin scoffed.

"Bullshit." The man torqued the arm further, eliciting a further grunt of pain from Justin's throat.

"Whether you believe me or not isn't my problem. I can understand your anger, but it's misplaced. The traveler you dealt with was never supposed to have been there. If you're going to blame anybody, blame him, not me." He let go of the arm. "Now I need to find Tommy. It's of the utmost importance. Billions of lives depend on it." Justin pushed himself to his feet, massaging his shoulder.

"I can't just take that on faith. You need to tell me what's going on, and you can start with who you are." The man considered the request for a few moments before letting out a soft breath, feeling one of his hands clench into a light fist at his hip.

"I'm an officer of the intergalactic police force known as Space Patrol Delta. My ranger designation is Alpha."

- PRG -

I'll give a cookie to whoever can figure out who it is that Andros is hearing.


End file.
